 27. We're going to be looking today at verses 27 through 50. We'll begin by looking at verses 27 through 31. That'll be our introduction. And so as I begin before I even read, let me say to you that this is one of those studies that to me is very sober. It's a very sober study in the sense that the subject matter is of such nature that I have a tendency of reducing any humor that I might have in the pulpit. I have a tendency of quenching that because I see the sobriety of what we're about to approach. This is the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there will be times, of course, that I will say something hopefully to make you laugh a little bit. But this is so serious to me. It's one of those portions that I want to do honor to it. And I'm wanting to give as many cross references as I can develop it, give you information. Because as I was sharing today in our first service, these are the kinds of things that lay a foundation for your faith. We're Christians not because we like celebrating certain things, or because we have certain beliefs about some basic things. We're Christians because of what we're looking at today, where Jesus died on a cross for us, and the events that will transpire after obviously his crucifixion. So with that said, I will be taking you through a lot of cross references. For those of you who take notes, I'd encourage you to be ready to do so. I'll give you a lot of scripture and a lot of background, carefully some application, especially as we arrive at our conclusion. I hope to be able to bring it together and give you something to take out today, saying how good God is to us, because that's what we're going to be seeing today as we go through this passage. So let's begin together. Matthew chapter 27 at verse 27, reading to verse 31, and we'll get into our study. Matthew writes, Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, gathered the whole garrison around him. They stripped him, put a scarlet robe on him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and a reed in his right hand. They bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Then they spat on him, took the reed and struck him on the head. When they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified. As we enter into this particular portion of scripture at this point, Pontius Pilate, the governor, the Roman governor had released Jesus Christ to be crucified. As we've been going through the events that transpired prior to this portion of scripture, we know that Pontius Pilate was not convinced that Jesus should die. Pontius Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. And we know that Pontius Pilate knew that Jesus had been delivered up to him because of envy. In verse 18 of chapter 27, it simply says that he knew that they had handed him over because of envy. Somebody once said envy was the low passion that influenced the chief priests. They saw that Jesus was gaining a great and increasing influence over the people by the sublime beauty of his character, by the fame of his miracles, and the constraining power of his words. And hence they concluded that unless he was arrested and put out of the way, their own influence would soon be gone. The whole world was going after him. Therefore, he must be destroyed. And so knowing this, he tried to secure Jesus' release. First, he tried to secure his release by offering a choice to the people, Barabbas or Jesus, murderer or Messiah. Which one of these two will benefit Israel the most? Now as he was offering this choice to them, in verse 19 it tells us that his wife interrupted the proceedings by bringing him a warning. She said, have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him. And so as that was taking place, it gave the priest opportunity to stir the people. And according to verse 20, we see that they requested Barabbas. A second thing that was happening is he scourged him, hoping that this would arouse sympathy from the people. Now Jesus' scourging is something that had been prophesied over 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53 verse 5 says he was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed. And so these verses before us describe what occurred when Jesus was delivered up for scourging. Now we know that at this point he had been beaten severely. We know that he was very tired. In Mark 1465 it says, some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, to beat him, to say to him, prophesy. The officers struck him with the palms of their hands. So now Jesus is taken before a garrison of Roman soldiers. And what he is now going to endure is he's enduring scourging. Scourging has been referred to by historians as the living death. The person who was scourged would be tied to a post. Their hands would be above their head. The face, the back, the neck completely exposed. Two torturers normally would take turns striking the victim using a whip. The whip was a short wooden handle with several straps embedded with bone acorn-shaped bits of lead, sharp bones or spikes. Each stroke would cut into the flesh until veins and in trails often were laid bare. Often the scourge struck the face, knocked out the eyes and the teeth. It almost always ended in fainting and on occasion it ended in death. Scourging. This is something that again was prophesied. In Isaiah 50 verse 6 it simply says, I gave my back to those who struck me. My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. According to verse 27, the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around him. So after he was scourged they took Jesus into this praetorium. The praetorium is an open court in the governor's house. We've been there many times. You can still go to the site that this took place and it was what would be called today a common hall. It says here in verse 27 that the whole garrison was gathered around him. A garrison or a cohort is part of a Roman legion. It would have anywhere from four to six hundred individuals, six hundred men. And as this is taking place verse 28 says, they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They put the scarlet robe on Christ to mock him. A scarlet robe is a symbol of authority. The emperors would wear a scarlet robe when they were enacting the role of a general and it spoke of their authority. This may have been the robe that Jesus had been arrayed in earlier because we know that Pilate when he heard that Jesus was from Galilee and actually wanted to wash his hands of Christ by sending him first to Herod because Herod had jurisdiction up there. And Jesus went before Herod and Herod and his men mocked him. And it says in Luke 2311 Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him dressing him in an elegant robe. They sent him back to Pilate. And so as Jesus is there with these others now, it would seem that it's more than likely that this robe that he had been, that they had put on him, it's very possible it could be the same robe, though not necessarily that it is. Now his back is an open wound. He's been scourged. And as they put this robe on him and continue mocking, notice with me there's no sympathy. And they continue and even get worse. Verse 29 says they twisted a crown of thorns. They put it on his head, a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying, Hail King of the Jews. A crown to mimic Caesar's wreath, mocking him as the King of the Jews. The thorns reminding us of the curse of the earth that had occurred at the fall of man and how that Jesus was paying the price. The reed was intended to mock his royalty because emperors had what was called a royal scepter. And so they're mocking him and saying, Hail King of the Jews. In verse 30 they spat on him. They took the reed and struck him on the head. His head was already wounded. It was already swollen, lacerated. Isaiah 52.14 says just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man. His form marred beyond human likeness. He was beaten so severely and so bloodied. His head was swelling. They're spitting on him and they're striking him as he's going through all of this. In verse 31 they mocked him. They took the robe off him, put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified. At this point we need to remember that Pilate made one last effort to release him in John's Gospel chapter 19 verses 4 and 5. It says, Pilate came out again and said to them, Behold, I'm bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him. Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Behold the man. It's as if Pilate asked them, Is this enough? Does this not satisfy you? But John in chapter 19 verse 6 tells us their response. It was immediate. They cried out saying, Crucify him. And so they took the robe off him. They put his own clothes on him and led him away. According to John 19 verse 17, carrying his own cross he went out to the place of the skull. Now by Jewish law death penalties had to be carried out outside of the city. Hebrews 13, 11 through 13 makes reference to that where it says, The high priest carries the blood of animals into the most holy place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burnt outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace that he bore. Verse 32, as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross. Simon of Cyrene. Cyrene is a Greek settlement. It was on the North African coast. It is in what is modern Libya. And it was a Greek settlement, but Simon is a Hebrew name. So he more than likely was a Jewish man living in Cyrene. And according to Roman law, soldiers were able to force someone to this kind of labor. Remember in Matthew 541, Jesus said, if someone compels you to go with them one mile, go with them too. He would have been making reference to the fact that the Romans were able to do that if they were carrying a load they didn't want to carry any longer. They could subscribe. Some Jewish men say, carry this for me. And so Jesus himself is now carrying his own cross. And as he does so, he's weak and he's been up. He's been beaten. He's lost a lot of blood and he's unable to carry the cross in that way. So here's a man by the name of Simon and they compel him to bear the cross for Jesus. Now that may have led to Simon's conversion, and the reason we say that is because in Mark 1521 it says, the certain man from Cyrene, Simon the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way from the country. They forced him to carry the cross. It may have led to Simon's conversion because later on in Romans 16, verse 13, Paul says, Greek Rufus chosen in the Lord and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. So there are those who believe that this Rufus is the same one that is spoken of as a son of Simon of Cyrene and Simon of Cyrene may have come to faith in Christ through this. It says that in verse 33, they came to the place called Golgotha, that is to say the place of the skull, which is just located north of the city walls. In verse 34, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink but when he had tasted it, he would not drink it. Then they crucified him, 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. They gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink, verse 34 says. Psalm 69 verse 21 says they gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Gall is a mild narcotic. It's intended to stupefy the victim to keep him from struggling. That would have dulled his senses so he refused to drink it. There are those who say this may have been an act of mercy towards Jesus because the rabbins at that time said the one who is perishing is the one condemned to die. The bitter of heart results from the fact that he's going to suffer the punishment of death and according to Proverbs 31-6 gives strong drink to him who is perishing wine to those who are bitter of heart. And so as they're trying to get him prepared to on the cross, verse 35 simply says they crucified him. This occurred at 9 a.m. according to Mark 15-25. At the cross of Christ we see man's wickedness most completely exposed. There are a lot of people who proclaim their own goodness who say that they're good in all, but the fact of the matter is, is there's none good? No, not one. We're not all as evil as we could be, but none of us as good as God would have us to be. And there's none righteous. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Some people's sins go before them. People see them and openly realize this is a sinner and others follow after them, meaning they're hidden well. But every human being sins, every one of us is wrong in one form or another. We've all sinned in word and thought in action. That's just a fact of life because we all have a sinful nature and according to Ecclesiastes 7-20 there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin. And the execution of the Savior is the greatest proof of man's wickedness. That demonstrates how far man will fall. Man will put to death his own Savior. And that's what we're seeing take place here with some simple words. They crucified him. It shows to us the evil of mankind and they placed him on a cross. I mentioned this to you before. Perhaps you remember how that I've shared with you. Assyrians had a form of of torture and death that the Romans actually bowed from as they developed crucifixion. The Assyrians would go into a grove and they would find saplings and they would cut the saplings just a little bit above man's height. They would cut the sapling and then they would whittle it so that it was like a pencil standing on end with a very sharp edge. Then two soldiers would take the victim. They'd grab him by the arm and the leg. They would actually lift him and slam him on top of this spike. The spike would enter into them and it would rest. They would rest this this victim about an inch above the point of that particular torture instrument. And then he would be screaming in agony and pain as his body through gravity began to slowly descend to the earth. And then the point of that sapling, that torture device, that stake as they were impaled would eventually pierce the heart and very slowly would go through the heart until the person died in agony. And the Romans were aware of that device of torture and they they came up with the cross, crucifixion. When you look at the cross and all today there are many people that wear them. I remember when I first got saved, first saved back in 1970, 71, I would see somebody on TV and I turn and say, oh they're a Christian, they're wearing a cross. And I actually thought because they wore a cross that symbolized that they truly believed until I realized that for many people it's just an article of jewelry. It's something cool to wear right now. They'll even put it on your t-shirt or on a jacket but it doesn't mean that you're a follower of Christ. I didn't realize that and so it has been made into an article of jewelry, a symbol of some sort that many people don't understand. The cross was a device of torture utilized by the Romans to be the most painful and lengthy execution that they could they could come up with. The cross itself was made of two pieces of wood. They had what was called the post and they had the crossbeam. The cross was normally twice the height of a man. The crucified person was either nailed to the crossbeam while on the ground or raised by cords to the crossbeam and then nailed to it. The hands would be pierced at the wrist, the legs would be twisted, and the ankles would be nailed to the post without breaking bones. The victim would suffer dislocation at the shoulders, would endure suffocation as the ribs compressed on the lungs. The veins would bulge with blood. There was congestion of blood in the head, lungs, and heart. The muscles would cramp, fever and dehydration would set in as well as shock. The victim would die of blood loss, shock, and dehydration. They took Jesus and they fastened him to the cross. A lot of times if you look at pictures of Jesus on the cross, old artist's conceptions and all in various statues and things of that nature, you're going to see that they normally impale him in the palm of the hand, but that's not where the nails were fixed to the victim. You see there was a doctor who wanted to see if you could crucify somebody and them when they died, whether they would remain there on the cross and they discovered that that wasn't possible because he actually took cadavers and nailed them on a cross with the nail in the palm of the hand and every time the weight of the body pulled it and the nail just eventually just came out through the skin. What was discovered, and you see this in some of the remains that have been discovered in Israel, is that in reality what they were doing is they were nailing through the wrist because in the wrist you have a gap in your wrist bones there and they actually found the place that they could put the nail so that that body would remain after they died. When somebody was on the cross, they also had a saddle seat. The saddle seat was sharpened and it was of such nature that you could actually rest on it for a moment but not with comfort because it had a point and so every time you would draw yourself up to take a breath the point of the saddle seat would go from your lower back and it would just drive in your back from the top to the bottom and it would lacerate it. Jesus's back was already opened up through the scourging and so when he was there on the cross and the cross was wooden and it was rough it was filled with splinters and so when his body with his open back was placed on that on that beam it the sharpened saddle seat was ripping open his back. The thorns were being pressed into the different pieces of splinter were going into his open wound so when you think of the cross try to remember what it actually meant and what it actually did. Some of the prisoners who were put to death actually survived several days. Some of them survived three days and they died according to historians. Raving lunatics the pain was that intense they would normally be put near a pathway where citizens would come back and forth and walk the pathway into the city and out of the city and that's where Jesus was and as they would go by they would see this and it would be a warning to them that if they were to transgress Roman law they too could end up on a cross like that so that's what you're seeing when Jesus is on a cross and he's dying. Now as this is taking place notice verse 35 it says they they divided my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots and so they divided his garments. Jewish men normally had five articles of clothing they wore a turban an inner robe an outer robe they wore sandals as well as a belt or a girdle now the prisoners would be in the keeping of four guards each one of the guards would take one of the articles of clothing according to Psalm 22 verse 18 this was fulfilling prophecy they divide my garments among them for my clothing they cast lots one of the garments that Jesus wore was a seamless robe John 19 23 speaks of it as a tunic and it says the tunic was without seam woven from the top in one piece the high priest would wear a seamless robe and this gives us a picture that Jesus was acting as our high priest verse 36 sitting down they kept watch over him there so this is like just normal day on the job for these guys they're impassive they're they're gambling for Jesus's clothing you see to them Jesus was just another criminal he wasn't even worth the effort of killing they're without a clue they're without a care concerning what is happening they're uninterested just like many today who are still uncaring and still uninterested their people caught up with the daily grind they don't even think about the Lord Christ they don't think why he died they're too busy they're callous by life they're making a living they're trying to get ahead and that's what's going on here with these people it says in verse 37 they they put over his head the accusation written against him this is Jesus the king of the Jews a prisoner's crime would be written on a placard it was placed normally around his neck and when they were crucified the placard would be nailed to the post above his head and so it was written actually in Hebrew Greek and Latin and the full words were this is Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews according to John 19 21 and 22 the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate do not write the king of the Jews but he said I am the king of the Jews Pilate answered what I have written I have written as this is taking place verse 38 two robbers were crucified with him one on the right another on the left now mark makes it clear that his being crucified between two thieves is significant in mark 15 27 and 28 it says with him they also crucified two robbers one on his right and the other on his left so the Scripture was fulfilled which says he was numbered with transgressors Isaiah 53 12 throughout his ministry Jesus was associated with transgressors there's an occasion where they spoke of him and they said he is a wine bibber and a glutton there was another time when people said of Jesus Christ that the question was asked of his disciples why does he eat with these kinds of people here's something for you this is something practical Jesus Christ made sure that he was around the people who needed him he was around the people who had a need for him and thus if he was invited to a Pharisee's house for a dinner or if he was invited to a publican's house for a dinner he would normally attend and as he attended he wasn't there to party he was there to minister and that's what he did he would speak to them and when they would speak about him what is he doing and why is your master spending time with these people Jesus said let me tell you something the only people who ever go to a doctor those who are sick those who are well don't need one I've come to call I haven't come to call those who perceive themselves as righteous I have called those I've come to call those who know their sinners to come to faith in me and that's what Jesus did Jesus went and he ministered and as he did so people would regard him as a transgressor even spoke of him in that way but he wasn't concerned about that because he had come to save people he came to seek and to save that which was lost and so it wasn't unusual during the time of Christ for him to have people associates around him that were that were sinful it wasn't unusual at all many years ago many years ago I was in my very early 20s maybe 23 years old at the time it's hard to believe seven years ago when I was about 23 years old I'd just gotten out of the military I was home and there was a knock on the door and I opened the door I was living at my parents house at that time I opened the door and there was a guy his name was Rick who was standing at the door and I hadn't seen him since we were in high school and he was inebriated he was a little little drunk and he's standing there at the door of my parents house my parents are gone it's just me and I invite him in he's somebody I went to I went not only to high school but elementary school I'd known him since we were kids I hadn't seen him in quite some time he said can I come in I said yeah come on he sits at my parents table and he and I began to have a conversation and he asked me a few things and I see this as an opportunity to witness to him about the Lord and I said well you know Rick I said I came to faith in Christ and he says really I said yeah he says really he goes you're a Christian now and I said yeah he says I'd like to hear a little about that he says but I want to go to the store there was a liquor store that was only about 200 300 yards from where I lived on the corner and he said uh why don't you walk with me I I'm going to get something at the store and and there I am thinking man this is one of these everybody knows what I was in my neighborhood everybody knows I was a drunk everybody knows I was a doper they all know my my past and if if I walk to the store with this guy and this guy's kind of wobbling like you know he's I they're going to think I'm high too and and and this time that I've been trying to make a new face so people would know that I'm a new man it's going to be washed away because I'm walking with Rick and Rick's all high and and I'm sitting at the table and I'm looking at him he says you want to go to the store with me and and and I and I'm thinking no I don't know because if I go there I'm going to be judged by my neighbors here and how and the spirit of the Lord says are you ashamed and I said yes yeah I he said it's funny I haven't been ashamed of you so I went with him I bought myself a short dog too no I I went with it's an old phrase some of you know what that is most of you don't good so we went to this we went to the store and you know he was one of these guys that that was he was real good at hiding stuff so he put it in a brown paper bag so nobody would know what was in that for sure and he downed it he downed it before he even got 150 yards after buying it through through it through the empty and in the field came to my house and as we're talking I said Rick you need the Lord he says I don't know he said what kind of God are you talking about I said a God who forgives a God who forgives Rick God who forgives sin and you need your sins forgiven Rick you see I'd known him since we're little boys and and I loved him as a dear friend hadn't seen him for a long time he says God's a forgiving God I said yeah Rick he is does he forgive every sin I said every sin every sin I said God forgives all sin there's not a sin that he doesn't forgive Rick even murder now you need to understand something about Rick all all of you guys perhaps you remember this when you're growing up you had your pecking order and you had a guy who was the lowest one on the pecking order so he is the guy that you'd give noogies to or pinch or trip or mess with that was Rick whenever we got bored we beat him up that was Rick it was fun no it wasn't but it's true that's what we did we'd never beat him mercilessly we just beat him a little bit that was Rick so I'm looking at a guy who was the low man on the totem pole he was a guy that was not not me not vicious he was actually a very nice guy so he says to me even murder and I said even murder Rick why well he tells me his story he was a courier in the US army he was the one responsible for carrying documents in brief cases you've seen that before they would put a handcuffs on his wrist and on the police it was his job to protect the information because he was a courier he says I was in Korea David he says I was on a in a train station on the platform awaiting the arrival of a train he said when somebody came and were able to dislodge the briefcase from my hand and ran it had documents my job is to protect those documents it would give you a 45 anybody in the military knows how powerful a 45 is so he pulled his 45 and leveled on a platform in Korea and he said and I yelled halt and he wouldn't stop I yelled halt he wouldn't stop Dave I leveled on him and I fired on him and I killed him on the platform I killed a man will God forgive me for that talk about taking a sober step back and I looked at him I have to tell you that came out of his mouth I was not expecting that that was not the man I grew up with that wasn't the boy I knew when I was in elementary school it sobered me up will God forgive every sin and I looked at him and I said yes God forgives every sin rick even that sin I said God forgives every sin rick you need Jesus Christ I still remember leading him to faith in Christ there at that table at my parents house and he began to attend Bible studies that I was giving every week until he moved up north my friend rick God forgives every sin Jesus died on the cross for us every sin every sin he took upon himself the sin of the world he was numbered with transgressors he ministers to us now as he's there the bible makes it very clear that these two robbers verse 38 there's one on the right and the other on the left are listening and as this is taking place obviously they knew something of Jesus and his ministry but at that point they were not attracted to him they hadn't needed him before so these people are there and they're hearing what's going on but it says in verse 38 or rather verse 39 those who passed by blasphemed him wagging their heads and saying you just 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 we will believe him he trusted in God let him deliver him now if he'll 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 there are people who are taking his teachings though familiar with them and they're casting his teachings at him and they're even saying things that have been repeated about Jesus and all they were they were saying that he would destroy the temple and raise it up which of course Jesus never said he destroyed the temple he spoke of his own body and the crucifixion and all but they're mocking him misunderstanding his teaching and not only that but according to verses 41 through 43 the chief priests were mocking and the scribes as well as the elders in other words those who should know better were still taunting him Psalm 22 7 and 8 says all those who see me ridicule me they shoot out the lip they shake their heads saying he trusted in the Lord let him rescue him let him deliver him since he delights in him these religious leaders were by far by the way the most wicked Jesus speaking in this way in John 15 22 through 24 said it like this he said if I had not come and spoken to them they would not be guilty of sin now however they have no excuse for their sin he who hates me hates my father as well if I had not done among them what no one else did they would not be guilty of sin but now they have seen these miracles and yet they have hated both me and my father so the religious leaders are rejecting him verse 44 says even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him at least at first they did that verse 45 says now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying that is my god my god why have you forsaken me some of those who stood there when they heard that said this man's calling for Elijah immediately one of them ran and took a sponge filled it with sour wine put it on a read 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 from noon until three in the afternoon there was darkness luke 23 44 and 45 says it was about the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour the sun stopped shining amos an old testament book in chapter eight verse nine says it will come about in that day declares the lord god that i will make the sun go down at noon make the earth dark in broad daylight in the darkness the darkness in the bible rather is is a symbol of judgment remember in the book of exodus in chapter 10 verses 21 and 22 how the lord said to moses stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over egypt darkness that can be felt moses stretched out his hand toward the sky total darkness covered all egypt for three days when jesus was speaking of judgment in matthew 25 verse 30 he said throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping a nation of teeth and so this is a demonstration of divine judgment the sins of the world are poured out vicariously on the son of god and supernatural darkness is expressing god's reaction to sin in that act of judgment and as this is taking place according to verse 46 jesus cries out with a loud voice and he cries out ali ali lamasa sabah tani which is he brew because mark gives us the aramaic when he says aloui aloui lama sabah tani my god my god why have you forsaken me someone said he is suffering in anguish because of the separation he felt for the first and only time in all eternity another said spiritual death is broken communion jesus had a taste of such broken communion the first and last he ever experienced in those desolate hours when darkness lay upon the earth and upon his soul jesus was our forerunner in every kind of experience even to the feeling of god's frown of disapproval on sin that he might become our high priest understanding all our infirmities being tempted in all points like as we apart from sin he felt the way a lost sinner feels without himself having sinned you ever feel that way before he came to faith in christ you may have lived in darkness and you felt the frown of god on your life you may have attempted to pray on occasion and it felt like the heavens were brass and your words were only going as far as the word could carry and then falling to the ground you were alone and you sensed it you knew it i'm by myself i'm abandoned by god and man i don't have any sense of his presence at all and that's because sin makes separation between us sin causes us to be aware of our isolation because sin is what breaks communion with god jesus is there on the on the on the cross and he's he's in three hours of darkness he's he's agonizing intensely but as this is going on isaiah tells us he'd actually pleased god to bruise him and isaiah 5310 it says it was the lord's good plan to crush him and fill him with grief yet when his life is made an offering for sin he will have a multitude of children many he will enjoy a long life the lord's plan will prosper in his hands 2nd corinthians 521 says god made him who had no sin to be sinned for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of god Galatians 3 13 says christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us and he suffered on that cross he experienced our separation from god he experienced separation he experienced isolation and isaiah 59 1 and 2 it says surely the arm of the lord is not too short to save nor is there too dull to hear but your iniquities have separated you from your god your sins have hidden his face from you he will not hear jesus experienced being forsaken on our behalf it wasn't a separation of nature or essence or substance it was a separation of fellowship again somebody said these words mark the conclusion of the suffering of jesus for a lost world here he drank the dregs to the dregs the the cup of sorrow grief and pain on our behalf and these hours when the sun refused to shine upon suffering deity jesus found fitting expression to his feeling of desolation in the words of the psalmist again he did not cry out when accused and crucified but when separated now according to verses 47 through 49 there was a reaction of mockery they were actually mocking what was taking place some of those who stood there when they heard that said this man's calling for elisha immediately one of them ran and took a sponge filled it with sour wine put it on a reed offered it to him to drink the rest said let him alone let us see if elisha will come and save him and jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit john gives prophetic insight into this in john 19 28 and 29 it says later knowing that all was now completed and so that the scripture would be fulfilled and jesus said i am thirsty a jar of wine vinegar was there so they soaked a sponge in it put the sponge on a stalk of the hisa plant lifted it to jesus's lips this sour wine was high in water low in alcohol content it was actually used to quench thirst and so as this is taking place verse 50 it simply says jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit he was dehydrating he moistened his lips he was able to moisten his throat so he could cry out notice with a loud voice and he cried out two things john 1930 says it like this when he had received the drink jesus said it is finished it is finished to tell us i paid in fall salvation was won on the cross paid in full i don't know if they still do this but but i think they do when you finish paying a bill you'll get a paid in full kind of receipt i remember when marie and i were in our first years of marriage and and i didn't have a credit card i i never had a credit card until i was in my 20s marie had a few but i never had a credit card and i remember that our children were growing up they were probably my oldest was probably about about five or so six maybe at the most and i got a credit card i didn't use my credit card and i had a two thousand dollar line of credit or a limit of two thousand dollars that was big money back then two grand you kidding me you can buy anything you can buy a lot of things with two thousand dollars and now i'm kind of rich i got a card i'm plastic rich even though it was an 18 interest some of you remember that still happens right 2021 percent sometimes so i don't use my cards but we we didn't have any money we there was an old saying we didn't have two nickels to rub together so it's now getting close to the christmas holidays and i've never bought presents for my my children or marie for that matter and i thought you know what i've i've got plastic i i can buy or something and and i did i went out and i bought some things for the kids and all and you know it costs us 20 a month to pay this off i didn't realize it would take the rest of my life and so i bought some things and before you know it well we have an emergency need for this and we need that before you know it we've got two thousand dollars worth of debt it's a lot of money when you're making three and a half dollars an hour and i'm thinking how am i going to pay this off how am i going to pay this off because we keep making the minimum payment and you don't even touch any of the principle you're always paying just interest this can take me forever and i'm getting now concerned because i don't want to be i don't like being in debt and so i'm thinking we've got to get rid of well marie was driving with joseph joseph was two years old at the time in karin in one of her little girlfriends and and so they were on foothill in upland right off of euclid and uh the car caught on fire my prayers were answered and the cars the car was on fire i wouldn't have given you 50 for that car my kids learned to to write on the back seats i wouldn't give you fifty dollars for the car but the insurance gave us something like thirty eight hundred dollars thirty eight hundred dollars i am a rich man and i still remember taking and saying to marie let's pay off our credit card bill i'm tired of paying on this thing and we took the two thousand dollars out of that thirty eight hundred and we paid off the credit card and we got something back from the the credit card company where it simply said and it was they had a stamp and they would actually to this day they may steal for all i know but you would and lift it up and it was in red in that interesting in red paid in full that's what jesus did for you took that stamp paid in full it's all done i paid for you not a single thing you could ever do will deserve what i just did for you and that's one of the reasons i thank my god for jesus right paid in full paid in full and i didn't keep trying to make payments to the company by the way well i've been paying them 20 now for the last couple of years you know i says i have it no i just oh boy i have 20 dollars that i can spend on other things paid in full the bible says this is in reference to redemption Ephesians 1 7 in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace then the second thing luke 2346 jesus called out with a loud voice father into thy hands i commit i entrust my spirit into thy hands i commit my spirit these words formed part of the evening prayers for centuries they may have been prayers jesus himself prayed as a child you see at night when the child would go to bed they would lay their head back they had evening prayers and they would quote this particular psalm psalm 31 verse 5 some of us were raised with evening prayers when you went to bed maybe mama was next to your daddy next to you and said okay son let's pray and then you would pray now i lay me down to sleep and i thought what a scary when you think about that prayer that's a if i die before i wake man i'd stay awake all night that's not a prayer you want to pray as a six-year-old but jesus jesus would place this head on what we would refer to as a pillow as a little boy and as he was saying his last prayers of the night father into thy hand i commit my spirit and as he was on the cross he laid his head down you see he was accustomed to pray these prayers and now he prayed this prayer for the last time someone said he died with a psalm on his lips as he gently peacefully and willingly died he cried out with a loud voice and he yielded up his spirit the fact that he could cry with a loud voice for everybody to hear shows he still had strength but he yielded which means he dismissed or he sent it away as an act of the will in other words he determined when it occurred he dismissed he sent away his spirit or he had just cried it is finished no one takes my life for me jesus said in john 10 18 i lay it down of my own accord i have authority to lay it down and authority to take it again this command i received from my father and in this dismissing of the spirit in this dine on the cross he revealed to us god's hatred for sin and love for simple humanity first john tells us in verses nine and ten of chapter four in this the love of god was manifested toward us that god sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him in this is love not that we loved god but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins he loved us first and he loves us deeply i have a i have a lot of granddaughters i've got six granddaughters a lot of estrogen six granddaughters one of them's name is stella stella will come over and when she's with me i will be on the couch and she'll make her way to me she's five years old she just turned five and she'll snuggle up next to me and we have to watch bubble guppies no that zoe i have to watch peppa pig that's a great show she calls me papa pig but she'll she'll clamber next to me and she presses herself on me sometimes she just climbs on top of me and then she'll look at me sometimes right in my face and she keeps her face like two inches from mine it's that close and then she'll say your breath stinks no she doesn't say that pop a brush your teeth she she'll look at me her face be right on my face i mean i'm telling you two inches away she'll just look at me like that and she'll go like this she sits on it she goes i love you more she'll tell me that i love you more and i'll look at her and i'll say that's impossible you can't you can't love me more you don't know how deeply i love you you will never love me more i loved you first and i will always love you more than you could possibly love me yes i tell a five-year-old that yes i do no you don't love me more you see her mama karin when she was around two we were at calpale pomona i used to go to calpale pomona and she went with me as i was getting some classes her mama and my karin and i she was a little thing and as we were there on campus i had one of these little cameras they used to have something called a camera wasn't in your phone you carried your phone and put the camera on it would have looked kind of weird no this was a little camera and i took picture of her because i had just said to her i said do you love your daddy and she said yes i said how much she said with all my heart i said how much is that she raises her arms out like this she says this much and i still remember looking at her saying that's not very much she goes this much i said that's still not very much you really don't love your daddy that much do you and then the last time she goes this much you see her straining her arms as far as she can and that's when i got the picture my mom has it had it one day my mom gave me a plaque and on the plaque it said i asked jesus how much he loves me and he said i love you this much and he stretched out his arms on a cross and he died that's how much your god loves you he loves you this much he stretched out his arm with spit dried on his face with blood coagulated on his forehead his back wounded from the stripes and the splinters that had been driven with that steak that had made his back like hamburger with a mother at the foot of the cross with some friends and with john watching and he says father into thy hands i commit my spirit and he lays down his head and he dies for you because god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life what a god we serve