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Bibles to Matthew chapter 27, 
as we work our way through the passion narrative in Matthew's 
gospel. As we gather together for the 
supper, that's what we've been doing for the last several times. 
Tonight, we find ourselves in the crucifixion of Jesus specifically, 
verses 47 to 50. There will be just a bit of review, 
but I do want to begin reading in verse 32. So, Matthew 27, 
beginning in verse 32. 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. 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 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for Your written Word. We pray now for 
the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and God, as we ponder the death 
of the Savior on our behalf, May you draw out our hearts in 
worship and in praise and in adoration. And God, give us a 
fresh appreciation of what the Savior went through on our behalf, 
living a life of obedience to the Father, dying a death for 
blood atonement, the forgiveness of sins, and as a substitute, 
and a sacrifice for us, and then being raised again on that third 
day. Truly, as the Apostle says, He was delivered up because of 
our offenses and was raised for our justification. And we praise 
You that You've included us in this redemptive plan. We praise 
You for the graces that You have given to us to believe the gospel 
and repent from our sin. We praise you for the ministry 
of the Holy Spirit, and we pray now that he would guide us and 
direct us to the foot of the cross, and may we marvel at our 
Savior King. And we pray through the Lord 
Jesus Christ, amen. Well, as we work our way through 
the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, it begins properly in 
verse 32. So you have the crucifixion in 
verses 32 to 38, and then the mockery of Jesus while he is 
on the cross in verses 39 to 44, and then the death of Jesus 
as it's recorded here. And specifically, you have that 
cry of dereliction. There were seven sayings from 
the Savior from the cross. Matthew records only one of them. Matthew and Mark record what 
we find in verse 46. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that 
is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So that is the cry 
of dereliction, verses 45 and 46. And then you have again, 
mockery by the bystanders. It sounds similar to what we've 
already seen previously, but it does add insult to injury. Christ is suffering, the worst 
form of punishment in the known world at the time. And instead 
of manifesting any degree of compassion, any degree of civility, 
they conduct themselves like the beasts of Psalm 22. Psalm 22 indicates several classes 
of animals that were against or targeting the Messiah of God, 
and that is the men involved in the crucifixion of our Lord. 
And then of course you have the death of Jesus specifically recorded 
in verse 50. And then the after effects we'll 
see, God willing, next time we gather together for the supper. 
So tonight I just want to review the cry of dereliction in verses 
45 and 46. and then look specifically in 
more detail at the death of Jesus in verses 47 to 50. The reason 
why we should review the cry of dereliction is because there's 
a lot of misunderstanding in terms of what Jesus' voice is 
here in this fourth saying of the Savior from the cross. Remember 
that the cry does not teach that there was a division among the 
persons of the Trinity. That cannot be. There is no division 
among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As well, this 
does not teach there was a dissolution or a breach in the hypostatic 
union. Remember the hypostatic union 
is simply the fact that Jesus is one person, two natures. divinity 
and humanity. Thirdly, this text does not teach 
that the three persons of the Trinity suffered on the cross. 
Christ, as the Word incarnate, suffered according to his humanity. And then fourthly, it does not 
teach that the Son was abandoned by the Father. Nevertheless, 
in the midst of his suffering, in the midst of his shame, in 
the midst of his punishment, Jesus calls God, My God. And as we read Psalm 22, the 
Father does hear the Son, and the Father does respond to the 
Son. So Jesus uses Psalm 22. It's 
a prophetic word of David, and he cries this out from the cross. As well, the Lord Jesus, according 
to His humanity, is suffering in our place. So all that we 
deserve is taken upon himself by our Lord Jesus. Just like 
when Jesus is in Gethsemane, again, according to his humanity, 
he prays that this cup, if it is possible, pass from him. But he says, nevertheless, Father, 
thy will be done. But according to his humanity, 
as he understands what is coming in terms of the wrath of God, 
that is essential to humanity. When we see judgment, we cry 
out against it. And that is precisely what Jesus 
is doing. And here he cries, my God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Lord expresses his agony 
at the temporary loss of God in the midst of his suffering 
and pain. So he's there as the surety. He's there as the mediator 
of the covenant. And it's there that he experiences 
this deprivation of the close smile of God. Matthew Henry says 
Christ was made sin for us, a curse for us, and therefore though 
God loved him as a son, he frowned upon him as a surety. It's very 
important that we make that distinction or else we're going to mess up 
the doctrine of the Trinity and the relationship between the 
Father and the Son. John Gill says, but he was now 
without a sense of the gracious presence of God, and was filled 
as the surety of his people with a sense of divine wrath, which 
their iniquities he now bore. So this cry from the cross would 
evoke this response from anybody that was truly man. Christ in 
our stead, Christ as the surety, Christ as the mediator, takes 
in our place, the punishment that was due for us. This is 
absolutely positively consistent with his humanity, with the prophetic 
word, but it does not teach there's any division among the Trinity 
of persons. Now let's move secondly to the 
death of Jesus in verses 47 to 50. You have the mockery of the 
bystanders in verses 47 to 49, and then the death of Jesus proper 
in verse 50. Notice in the first place their 
misunderstanding. So when we look at verse 46, 
Jesus cries, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. That is, my God, my God, why 
have you forsaken me? And then in verse 47, some of 
those who stood there, when they heard that, said, this man is 
calling on Elijah. Now, there was perhaps a reason 
why they might think that, because there was a Jewish tradition 
that Elijah would come to rescue persons in need at the time of 
distress, that he could be summoned to aid persons in grave danger. As well, it's probably a misunderstanding 
that was deliberate and added to the mockery. Previously, notice 
back in verse 39, 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. 
And then notice in verse 43, he trusted in God, let him deliver 
him now if he will have him. For he said, I am the son of 
God. So they're adding to that. God isn't coming to the rescue 
of the Messiah, and neither is Elijah. Ergo, he must not be 
the Messiah. Ergo, he is rightly and properly 
suffering for crimes that he did commit. So this misunderstanding 
is most obvious, or most likely deliberate, and it's intended 
to add insult to the injury that Christ was suffering on the cross. Notice as well, then, they offer 
this sour wine in verse 48. 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. Now, when we compare 
Scripture with Scripture, as I said, there are seven sayings 
of the Savior. The fifth, after, my God, my 
God, why have you forsaken me, is I thirst, in John 19, at verse 
28. So Christ cries from the cross, 
I thirst and now we see their response in verse 48. 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. Now this 
sour wine was a wine vinegar. It relieved thirst more effectively 
than water, and being cheaper than regular wine, it was a favorite 
beverage of the lower ranks of society and of those in moderate 
circumstances, and most likely something that would have been 
handily nearby for the soldiers that were the protectorate of 
this crucifixion scene. So they dip this sponge and they 
bring it up to the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we might 
ask the question, why? Was it an act of mercy? Were 
they trying to genuinely assist him and slake his thirst while 
he's in the midst of suffering and death? Or were they trying to prolong 
his suffering? A bit of wine, this kind of wine, 
would have given him a bit of strength and would have perhaps 
kept him going so that he would have been miserable longer. They 
were purveyors of pain and misery and destruction. And most likely 
that's what we should see because up to this point, there's been 
no mercy. There's been no kindness. There's 
been no civility given to this man who is suffering crucifixion. And so most likely they want 
to prolong the agony of the Lord. Just like that little block of 
wood at the bottom of the victim's feet. It wasn't there in order 
to give him relief. It was there in order to prolong 
his suffering. That's why typically they would 
break the legs so that there would no longer be support. And 
then the victim would asphyxiate. It wasn't a mercy. They liked 
this. This was sport to them. This 
made them happy. These men, these Roman soldiers 
were good at this, inflicting pain on behalf of the empire 
and killing malefactors, killing rebels, killing insurrectionists, 
killing those that were a potential threat to the civil polity in 
the Roman empire. So it was not an act of mercy. 
It was rather an act of a desire to prolong his suffering. But 
we know that it was a fulfillment of the Scripture. Remember that 
all the way to the cross, all the way on the cross, and then 
post-cross, Christ is in control. Christ is fulfilling the prophetic 
Word. Christ is resolved to do the 
will of His Father that had been given in the prophetic Scripture. 
And when we come to this particular passage, we should think of the 
passage in Psalm 22. I read the entirety of the Psalm, 
as I said, it is backdrop to what is going on here. Verse 
15, my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings 
to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust 
of death. And then Psalm 69, verse 21, 
they also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they 
gave me vinegar to drink. So all along the way, Jesus Christ 
is fulfilling the scripture. All along the way, Jesus Christ 
is not the hapless victim. Christ, according to the covenant 
of redemption, is the willing victim. Remember that this morning. It is the pre-temporal, intra-Trinitarian 
covenant wherein the Godhead purposes to save His people from 
their sins. The Father chose us in Him before 
the foundation of the world. Jesus steps up in order to be 
the surety, in order to be the one who lives for them, who dies 
for them, and then is raised again for them. And it's the 
Spirit's work to take that finished work of Christ and apply it to 
the elect of God. And so what we see here again, 
not haphazard, It isn't unfortunate, it is the predetermined plan 
of God Almighty and Christ is willing. Christ lays down His 
life for the sheep. He doesn't do so against His 
will. He does it with determined resolution 
to fulfill the obligation placed upon Him by the Father and for 
the glory of God in the salvation of the elect, in the salvation 
of the sinners that the Father had given unto Him. And then 
notice, the mockery continues in verse 49. Verse 49, it says, 
the rest said, let him alone, let us see if Elijah will come 
to save him. So again, the mockery patterns 
what you see previously in verse 43, and it's designed to heighten 
his suffering. It's designed to increase his 
pain. It's designed to show him to 
be a fake, to be a pretender, to not be the Messiah. Remember, 
these Jews missed the prophetic word. These Jews missed the prophet 
Isaiah. They missed Isaiah 53 11. Yahweh 
was pleased to bruise him. They were not expecting that. 
They were expecting Messiah. to come and subjugate the Roman 
Empire. They were expecting Messiah to 
come and put a chicken in every pot and a car on every driveway. They were expecting Messiah to 
bring prestige back to the nation of Israel. They were to be that 
geopolitical center of the earth. But that's not why Christ comes 
in his first coming. He comes to save his people from 
their sins. He comes to live for us. He comes 
to die for us. He comes to be raised again for 
us. This is Paul's emphasis in 1 
Corinthians 1. The Jews seek after signs. The 
Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. To 
the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness. 
But to those of us who are being saved, Christ the wisdom and 
the power of God. They missed it. They did not 
have a concept or a context for a suffering Messiah. Now we look 
at that and we say, how did they misread the prophet Isaiah so 
much? Well, Paul tells us they had 
a veil over their eyes. John tells us in John chapter 
three, man has a veil over his eyes. Men love darkness rather 
than light. They don't want to come to the 
light lest their evil deeds are exposed. In order for men to 
appreciate the prophetic scripture, the spirit of God must work in 
their hearts. Many a people have read the Old 
Testament and the New as well. And at a certain level, they 
might understand some of the nuances and the ins and outs 
and some of the history involved. But it's the Spirit-taught man 
that sees the significance of blood atonement. It's the Spirit-taught 
man that sees the Levitical system as typological. It's the Spirit-taught 
man that sees that the way of approach to a thrice-holy God 
is through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. And then we 
get to John 1.29, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the 
sin of the world. Jesus' contemporaries missed 
that. Jesus' contemporaries denied 
that. Jesus' contemporaries said no 
to that. Again, not all of them, but a 
good deal of them. The ones that at one moment cried, 
you know, Hosanna to the one who comes in the name of the 
Lord at the beginning of the Passion Week, by the end of the 
Passion Week are crying out, away with him, away with him, 
crucify him. So they missed it by a mile. 
And so here again, they're mocking the Savior by invoking Elijah 
or suggesting that he was invoking Elijah to come and to rescue 
him. And so the mockery underscores 
as well, not only their desire to add to his suffering, but 
it also underscores the solitariness of Jesus' mission. You get that 
back in chapter 26. Notice, go back for just a moment. You see this theme or you see 
this pattern. After the arrest of our Lord in the garden of 
Gethsemane, Jesus rebukes them. Jesus says to them in verse 55, 
in that hour, Jesus said to the multitudes, have you come out 
as against a robber with swords and clubs to take me? I sat daily 
with you teaching in the temple and you did not seize me. But 
all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. 
Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. then all the disciples 
forsook him and fled." It's a horrible statement, isn't it? And then 
Peter, the one who denied, or rather said, there's no way, 
I will go with you all the way to death. Later on in this very 
passage, Peter denies Jesus, the knowledge of Jesus, to this 
servant girl. What's the author telling us? 
What are the gospel writers saying? The mission of the Son of Man 
was solitary. There was nobody helping him. 
We study the book of Exodus at our Wednesday night study. Remember 
that battle against the Amalekites? As long as Moses' hands were 
raised, then Israel had victory over the Amalekites. As soon 
as his hands started to lower, and it's not because he was out 
of shape or Anything like that, anybody who holds their hands 
up long enough is going to eventually tire and start to lower their 
hands. Well, what did you have? You had Aaron and Hur come right 
over next to him and buttress him and buoy him up and sustain 
his hands in that position so that Israel could gain the victory 
on the field of battle against the Amalekites. There was no 
one there with Jesus. His disciples, his closest associates, 
the men that had come to know and love him, the men that adored 
him, fled from him as soon as crunch time came. All of their 
bravado notwithstanding, Peter's saying, I will go with you to 
the death. No, that's not what happens. 
That's not what happens at all. Thomas, way back in John 11 or 
14, it escapes me right now. Thomas makes the same statement. 
Thomas says, I'm willing to die with you. Well, Thomas was the 
denier. Thomas was the unbeliever. Thomas 
was the doubter. We call him a doubter, but it 
wasn't a doubt. He says, I will certainly not 
believe unless he meets my qualifications, unless he jumps through my hoops. 
So the closest associates of our Lord Jesus Christ are not 
there for him in his time of suffering and grief. And as we 
see from the fourth saying of the Savior, my God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me? Again, no disillusion, no division 
among the Trinity of persons, but as surety, as mediator, according 
to his humanity, Jesus is receiving in himself the punishment due 
for our sin. So he is not knowing intimately 
the smile of God. So there is no one there to assist 
the Lord. So this again, there's no father 
at this point in terms of deliverance from the task at hand, and there's 
no Elijah the prophet that is going to come to his aid. So that's the mockery of the 
bystanders, just by way of a practical observation. Man is terrible, 
isn't he? We are just horrible. Now don't 
think, well, we wouldn't have done that. Well, the Romans were 
involved, the Jews were involved, and we were involved. You know, 
it is the case that though we weren't present, and though we 
didn't nail him to the cross, and though we weren't at that 
mob scene where we cried away with him, away with him, crucify 
him, it is the reality. Romans 4.25, he was delivered 
up because of what? because of our offenses, and 
he was raised for our justification. We all had a hand in the crucifixion 
of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Now, had we been present, we 
might like to think, well, we would have never deserted him. 
Peter did. We would have never denied Him. 
Peter did. We would have never abandoned 
Him. All the disciples fled. Now, 
they were the good ones among humanity. This isn't even a reflection 
on the beasts that are at the foot of the cross, mocking a 
man who is suffering for crimes he never committed. Man is totally 
depraved. If you ever doubt that, read 
the Passion Narrative of our Lord Jesus Christ. because it 
comes in full-blown presentation. Now notice the death of Jesus. 
Two things here. First, the cry from the cross, 
and then secondly, the yielding up of His Spirit. Notice the 
cry from the cross in verse 50a. And Jesus cried out again with 
a loud voice. He cried out again with a loud 
voice. Remember the time frame. He's up all night Thursday night. 
It's in Gethsemane on Thursday night where they arrest him. 
So that Thursday night, he is then carted away early Friday 
morning to the Sanhedrin. They got to get the Sanhedrin 
on board in order to then go get Pilate on board. So he's 
sleep deprived. Along the way, he's been scourged. 
Along the way, he's been suffering on the cross. Along the way, 
he is suffering not only the wrath of man, but the wrath of 
God, because he stands in the stead of sinners. And yet in 
the midst of that, when he's about to yield up his spirit, 
he cries aloud, or he cries with a loud voice. Brethren, I'm one 
of those guys that if I get a sniffle and I'm laying on the couch, 
it's like the world has ended. Oh, honey, can you bring me some 
crackers? That's the energy level that 
I have with the sniffles. Christ has gone through excruciating 
pain, excruciating suffering, excruciating difficulty, and 
yet he cries out? What does this demonstrate? Christ 
is in control. He is a willing victim because 
of us. He is not there unwillingly, 
he is not there unwittingly, and the fact that this verb is 
utilized to express a loud cry from the Savior in this darkest 
of hours indicates that he has energy, underscores the reality 
that he is not engaged in the typical death rattle. R.T. Frantz says, the loud cry which 
precedes Jesus' death, and his equally loud shout in verse 46, 
indicate that, unlike most crucified men, Jesus died in full control 
of his faculties, perhaps even that he died when he himself 
chose. So again, brethren, it's easy 
to get all sentimental at the cross and forget the covenant 
of redemption and forget the willingness of our surety. Not 
that we shouldn't be shaken up a bit at the wretchedness of 
man and the way they treat their God, but it does cause us to 
reflect on the fact that our God is in sovereign control, 
right down to the fulfilling of the scriptures and right down 
to the loud cry when he gives up his spirit. He goes on to 
say, France, the loudness of the cry at the time of death 
again indicates that Jesus is not just fading away, but dying 
while in full possession of his senses. That's a good observation. That's a good reading of the 
text. We need to be careful when we read through passages like 
these so we don't end up as fuzzy sentimentalists. Oh, look at 
the poor Savior. Oh yeah, there's a sense. We're 
in. That is true and accurate. But the poor Savior is the second 
person of the Trinity. In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became 
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory 
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 
That doesn't diminish even in His suffering and in His death. 
He is in control. He is God Most High, taking on 
our humanity and suffering in our stead. It's at this time 
that the sixth saying of the Savior comes on the cross. That's 
John 19 at verse 30. It's when Jesus says, get this, 
it is finished. Not, I am finished, but it is 
finished. Again, I don't know that exactly 
he had the covenant of redemption in his mind, but that's what 
he had in his mind. The father sent the son according 
to his plan and purpose in order to save his people from their 
sins. He has completed it. He is victorious. This cry from 
the cross, it is finished, wasn't a feeble little statement concerning 
his demise, it was a triumphal statement concerning his victory 
in having accomplished what the Father had given him. Spurgeon 
says that this particular statement was well calculated for the good 
of In other words, it was to encourage Him. Every other word 
from the cross has a different people group in terms of target. 
And here, specifically, Jesus triumphs in His victory over 
death, over sin. And then here comes the seventh 
saying of the Savior, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. That's in Luke's gospel at chapter 
23. verse 46, and that's a fulfillment of Psalm 31, 5. Into your hand 
I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord 
God of truth. So David is certainly speaking 
as David in Psalm 31, but he's also speaking prophetically in 
terms of David's greater son, who is going to commit his spirit 
back into the care of his father. And incidentally, there's no 
descent into hell at this part. Jesus' spirit goes to be with 
the father. Whatever the Apostles' Creed 
means when it says he descended into hell, the charismatics and 
the Pentecostals and the weirdos that suggest that he was actually 
physically in hell for three days is simply unbiblical. He 
commits his spirit into the hands of his God. And then he says 
the same thing to the thief on the cross. Today, you will be 
with me in paradise. Not, you know, give me three 
days and once I finish in hell, then I'll meet you in heaven. 
That's not it at all. Brethren, the idea of the descent 
into hell, whatever it means again, and that would take us 
too far afield to deal with, It does not mean that he was 
locally present in hell for three days after he died. No, he commits 
his spirit into the care of his gracious father. And then notice 
the yielding up of his spirit. Jesus cried out again with a 
loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Again, it indicates the 
full possession of his senses and the language employed here 
indicates his control of the situation. And this is reminiscent 
of what Christ says in his own earthly ministry. In John chapter 
10, for instance, in verses 17 and 18, Jesus says, Therefore 
my Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take 
it again. No one takes it from me, but 
I lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command 
I have received from my Father. Those of us who are a bit older 
remember the hippie movie in the 60s called The Last Temptation, 
or no, Jesus Christ Superstar, that Jesus was this sort of hippie, 
just sort of floating around the hills of Palestine, drinking 
chamomile tea and not really knowing anything. about his own 
identity, not really knowing anything about his messianic 
investiture and what it was to be the Messiah. That is so far 
afield. That is so far wrong. It is so 
blasphemous. Christ knows precisely every 
step of the way. How many times in John's gospel 
does Jesus refer to the father who sent me? How many times does 
he refer to the reality that I have meat to do, that my meat 
is to do the will of him who sent me? I always do that which 
is pleasing to him. Even up until the moment of his 
death, including his death, he is submissive to the Father. 
He is willingly doing this as our surety and as our mediator. And that, brethren, is why our 
hearts should be drawn out in love and worship and praise and 
adoration. Paul the Apostle in Galatians 
2.20 says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer 
I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now 
live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who 
did what? Who loved me and gave himself for me. So it pleased 
Yahweh to bruise him, according to Isaiah 53, verse 11. But as 
well, the Lord Jesus Christ willingly submits to His Father. The Lord 
Jesus Christ is not some misguided, misunderstanding fellow that's 
just wandering around hoping for some sort of tea leaf or 
fortune cookie to lead him into the next particular event. No, 
he's always resolute. I love that passage in Luke 9. 
It reflects the prophet Isaiah. When Jesus set his face like 
a flint to go to Jerusalem, there was no sort of willy-nilly possibly 
or perhaps. He sets his face like a flint. 
He is steadfast. He will not be taken aback. In Matthew 16, 17, and 20, he 
announces three times that he must go to Jerusalem. He must 
be tried at the hands of godless men. He must be delivered up 
to death. He must be raised from the dead. 
Again, that's a divine necessity, the must-ness of the covenant 
of redemption. He undertook to be our surety. He undertook to be our mediator, 
and he did it. with full resolution. John Gill makes the observation. 
It was not taken from him. Notice verse 50a. He yielded 
up his spirit. He's the subject of that clause. 
Jesus is the subject of the sentence. You have two things going on. 
Cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. So 
Gil makes the observation, it was not taken from him. He laid 
down his life of himself as the Lord of it and gave himself freely 
to be an offering and sacrifice in the room of his people, which 
is a proof of his great love and amazing grace unto them." 
Again, a good careful reading of the text yields for us more 
fodder for praise to our great God, to our blessed Jesus. J.C. Ryle says, there never was 
a last breath drawn of such deep import as this. There never was 
an event on which so much depended. The Roman soldiers and the gaping 
crowd around the cross saw nothing remarkable. They only saw a person 
dying as others die, with all the usual agony and suffering 
which attend a crucifixion. but they knew nothing of the 
eternal interests which were involved in the whole transaction. We know it, we understand it 
because we've been born from above. We have been directed 
by the Spirit of the living God to behold the Lamb of God who 
takes away the sin of the world. Such now that when we gaze at 
the cross, we see what those unconverted at the cross didn't 
see. Ryle's right. They saw nothing 
remarkable. They didn't see halos. They didn't 
see the attendant, you know, attendant angels upon him. They 
didn't see anything that was noteworthy at that time. They 
simply saw a man who had been punished with crucifixion give 
up the ghost, as it were. But as Ryle says, we who understand 
the transaction, we who understand the significance, we who understand 
what Christ did on our behalf should stand in awe and wonder. We should respond with praise 
and worship and adoration that are altogether lovely. Our chief 
among 10,000 went to these lengths in order to save us from our 
sin. And this answers or this flashes out for us that statement 
in Matthew 1. Matthew 1, when the angel announces 
the arrival of Jesus, he gives Joseph the task of naming Jesus. And he says, you shall call his 
name Jesus, which means Yahweh is salvation. You shall call 
his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So 
if you're reading Matthew 121, you've never read the rest of 
Matthew, you might ask the question, how is he going to save his people 
from their sins? Will it be guns blazing? Will 
it be with aircraft and with bombs and all that sort of thing? 
Is he going to be the sort of champion or Messiah that the 
nation of Israel was looking at to subjugate the Roman Empire? 
No! He will save His people from 
their sins by going to the cross on their behalf, by suffering 
in their place, by being their substitute and standing under 
the wrath and fury of God most high so that you and I will never 
ever have to. When we conclude this, or as 
we conclude, we ought to reflect on the cruelty of man again. 
Turn to Psalm 22. This is one of the primary themes. Psalm 22, obviously, it's not 
about David. It's about David's greater son. 
It's about Jesus. and the crucifixion. Notice, 
Psalm 22, verse 12, many bulls have surrounded me, strong bulls, 
obeisant, have encircled me. He's not speaking literally. 
He's not saying that bulls were my problem. He's not suggesting 
that at the cross, at the foot of the cross, bovines were there 
and engaged in whatever it was they were doing that were against 
it. He's describing men. He's using beastly characteristics 
to underscore the depravity of sinners. Notice in verse 13, 
they gape at me with their mouths like a raging and a roaring lion. Drop down to verse 20, deliver 
me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. And then in verse 21, save me 
from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen. He 
uses that vivid imagery. He uses that metaphorically. 
in order to underscore for us the cruelty of man. And again, 
the Lord Christ underwent that cruelty of man. He underwent 
the wrath and fury of God most high in order to save us from 
our sins. We should respond with praise 
and worship and adoration. That's the second observation 
from our text. The gratitude of the believer. 
Guilt, grace, gratitude. Don't minimize the gratitude 
part. We need to respond in worship 
to our God. Everything that happens to Christ 
on the cross, we deserve that. We deserve to be forsaken by 
the Father. We deserve to be cast off into 
hell. We deserve to have men treat 
us that way because we're wicked. We are sinners, we are transgressors, 
that Jesus is holy, harmless, and undefiled. But for us, He 
undergoes on our behalf. So as a result of His redemptive 
work for us, we ought to praise. We ought to be thankful. We ought 
to live in light of these great truths and seek by grace to live 
consistently. Thirdly, we should see here the 
glory of the Savior. He's in control. He's fulfilling 
Scripture. He is doing what God had given 
Him to do. So the doctrine of substitutionary 
atonement, including penal suffering, both the punishment of loss and 
sense, are inflicted upon the Savior while He stands in our 
place. Listen to John Flavel on Romans 
8.32. He says, When God spared not 
His own Son, this was the design of it. And could you know the 
thoughts of his heart, they would appear to be such as these. I 
will now manifest the fierceness of my heart to Christ, and the 
fullness of my love to believers. The pain shall be his, that the 
ease and the rest may be theirs. The stripes his, and the healing 
balm issuing from them, theirs, the condemnation his and the 
justification theirs, the reproach and shame his and the honor and 
glory theirs, the curse his and the blessing theirs, the death 
his and the life theirs, the vinegar and gall his, the sweet 
of it theirs. He shall groan and they shall 
triumph. He shall mourn that they may 
rejoice. His heart shall be heavy for 
a time that theirs may be light and glad forever. He shall be 
forsaken that they may never be forsaken. Out of the worst 
miseries to him shall spring the sweetest of mercies to them. 
Oh, grace, grace beyond conception of the largest mind. He is bang 
on, substitutionary curse bearing on behalf of sinners. Guilty, vile, helpless we, spotless 
lamb of God was he. Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah, 
what a savior. We're gonna close our service 
in a few moments with that particular hymn. It celebrates the redemptive 
work of Christ in terms of his substitutionary atonement where 
He takes in Himself the punishment that was due for us. And then 
finally, in terms of the gospel, in terms of the good news, why 
do we preach that sinners should look unto the Lord Jesus Christ 
in faith for salvation? Because of this. because of what 
he went through, because of the lengths that he went. It demonstrates to us God's willingness 
to save needy sinners. Paul says as much in Romans 5, 
God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were 
yet sinners, Christ died for us. We've seen it in John 3, 
16, God so loved the world. He doesn't just make the declaration, 
but He furnishes the demonstration. He so loved the world that He 
gave. He gave His only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting 
life. We preach the gospel because 
of the gospel. Because of the fact that Christ 
lived, He died, and He was raised again. Which is the gospel? This 
idea that the gospel is a feeling, the gospel is about me, the gospel 
is an experience, that is all wrong. The gospel is about Christ, 
life, death, resurrection. In fact, turn to 1 Corinthians 
15 in case you need reminder of this. 1 Corinthians chapter 
15. Verse one, moreover, brethren, 
I declared to you the gospel which I preached to you, which 
also you received and in which you stand, by which also you 
were saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to 
you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you, first 
of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins 
according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that 
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He 
was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen 
by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained 
to the present, but some have fallen asleep. You see what the 
gospel is? Again, it's not our experience. 
It's not our feeling. It's not the warm sort of corollary 
that follows our confession of faith. The gospel is about Jesus 
Christ. And with reference to this particular 
passage, notice that it's a historic message. It's not a cunningly 
devised fable. Paul doesn't say in a land, in 
a galaxy far, far away, there are all these mythical creatures 
and all these mythical things that happen. No, the gospel is 
rooted in history. As well, we notice that the gospel 
is received by faith. That's the emphasis in verse 
2, unless you believed in vain. As well, the gospel is Christocentric. It's about Jesus, life, death, 
and resurrection. But as well, notice what the 
apostle says in terms of the power of the gospel. It is powerful. Look at verse 9. He says, For 
I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called 
an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the 
grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not 
in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but 
the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was 
I or they, so we preach, and so you believe. Paul says a similar 
thing in 1 Timothy 1. This is a faithful saying. It's 
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world 
to do what? To save sinners. See, brethren, as the church, 
that's our blessed privilege. It is a responsibility, but it's 
a privilege to be able to testify concerning the glory of Christ, 
to be able to look at his life, his death and his resurrection, 
to be able to urge sinners or exhort sinners or call sinners 
to believe this gospel and they shall be saved. Turn to the Song 
of Solomon chapter five. We'll end here in just a moment. 
We'll bring it to a close, but notice what happens in Song of 
Solomon in chapter five. And I'll just read you while 
you're turning there, what the Song of Solomon is about. The 
whole psalm, or the whole book of canticles, rather, is designed 
to no other purpose but variously to shadow forth, to insinuate 
and represent the mutual love of Christ and the Church. Blessed 
is he who understands the sayings of that book and hath the experience 
of them in his heart. Look over at Psalm 5, specifically 
at verse 10. Look at how the bride takes up 
to describe her man. My beloved is white and ruddy, 
chief among ten thousand. His head is like the finest gold, 
his locks are wavy and black as a raven. His eyes are like 
doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set. 
His cheeks are like a bed of spices, banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies dripping 
liquid myrrh. His hands are rods of gold set 
with beryl. His body is carved ivory inlaid 
with sapphires. His legs are pillars of marble 
set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, 
excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yes, 
he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, this is my 
friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." See, they have a proper understanding, 
or she has rather, a proper understanding of the bridegroom. And as a result, 
she preaches that. As a result, she testifies of 
that. Remember John the Baptist? I'm 
just happy, as the friend of the bridegroom, to stand in his 
presence and to hear his voice, and as well to point sinners 
to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Now, 
as we follow along in the song, notice what happens. Where has 
your beloved gone? This is the daughters of Jerusalem. 
O fairest among women, where has your beloved turned aside, 
that we may seek him with you? You see, the way that the bride 
describes the bridegroom evokes the response from the daughters 
of Jerusalem, where is he? We want to find him as well. 
Brethren, when we understand the gospel, the life and the 
death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can't 
help but speak it. And may God give us grace to 
speak it in such a way that the persons to whom we speak it will 
say with the daughters of Jerusalem, where is your beloved, that we 
may find him too. Brethren, understanding this 
truth will open our mouths in worship to God and in testimony 
concerning our beloved Christ. And may the Lord bless that evangelism. May the Lord bless the gospel 
as it goes forth. And may the Lord call more out 
of darkness into marvelous light. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the death 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we suspect that people would 
hear us celebrating this and think we're some sick and twisted 
people. But we know this was the plan and the purpose of God 
most high. This was the antitype of the 
sacrificial system of the old covenant, such that he is in 
fact the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And 
we praise you that our beloved Savior, our blessed Lord, went 
to these lengths in order to save us from our sins. May we 
not only worship you, but may we testify as well to others 
who stand in need of such a gracious Savior. And we ask in his most 
blessed name, amen. Well, you can turn back