1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:04,040 I often say God's people should. Christians should have the best 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,200 marriages, Christians should have the best family cultures. 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:08,840 Christians should have the best health. 4 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:10,200 Christians should have the best everything. 5 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,280 As we walk out obedience to the word of God, as we walk in 6 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:19,200 wisdom, we should be a people of wisdom and self-control and that 7 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,000 leads to good fruit. So we're going to keep growing 8 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,200 in all these ways. Turning your Bible to Matthew 9 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:31,200 27. A heavy day, a monumental day, a 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:36,520 magnificent day, a wonderful day, a terrible day known as 11 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,240 Good Friday. The day that Jesus dies on the 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,720 cross. We started with him on the cross 13 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,840 last week, but we didn't finish. And today we come all the way 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,920 through and Jesus dies on the cross. 15 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:59,840 Matthew chapter 27, verse 45. Now from the 6th hour there was 16 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,800 darkness over all the land until the 9th hour. 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,400 And about the 9th hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice 18 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,320 saying, Eli, Eli, Lemi Sabachthani, that is my God, my 19 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:16,120 God, why have you forsaken me? And some of the bystanders 20 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,680 hearing it said, this man is calling Elijah. 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,800 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,000 sour wine, put it on a Reed and gave it to him to drink. 23 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,400 But the other said, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come and 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,040 save him. And Jesus cried out again with a 25 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,760 loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 26 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,640 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top 27 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,200 to bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 28 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,640 The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the Saints who 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,400 had fallen asleep or raised. And coming out of the tombs 30 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,600 after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and 31 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,600 appeared to many. When the centurion and those who 32 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,840 were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake 33 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,080 and what took place, they were filled with awe and said truly, 34 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,880 this was the Son of God. There were also many women there 35 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,520 looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, 36 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,720 ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the 37 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,960 mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of 38 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,800 Zebedee. God, thank you for really the 39 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,800 miracle that life itself could die, the miracle of Jesus's 40 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,720 sacrifice, the perfection and the completion of him 41 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,760 accomplishing everything he set out to do. 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,800 If Jesus hadn't been perfect, if Jesus hadn't been holy, if Jesus 43 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,080 had not accomplished his mission in perfection, then there would 44 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,320 be no hope for us and we would forever be lost. 45 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,640 All of the Old Testament Saints, we're looking ahead and 46 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:56,960 depending upon this moment and the perfect sacrifice coming and 47 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,120 all of the New Testament Saints look back on to this moment and 48 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,400 the perfection of the New Testament, the perfection of the 49 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,240 Lamb accomplishing all things for us. 50 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,280 Well, we thank you for the salvation that Jesus 51 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,840 accomplished and provided. I pray you would bring us 52 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,280 revelation and light this morning. 53 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,520 Help us to see more that we would worship more in Jesus 54 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:19,560 name. We thank you, Amen. 55 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,600 A mighty moment, an incredible moment. 56 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,520 We're going to marinate on it together and then we're going to 57 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:35,160 take communion together at the end of our sermon in verse 45. 58 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,800 Now from the 6th hour. So the the way time was kept can 59 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,640 look different. John keep keeps time different 60 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,520 in his gospel than Matthew does. Matthew's using the traditional 61 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,280 Gospel, the traditional Jewish way of time, tracking the 6th 62 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,640 hour. This is 9:00 AM, so it's 9:00 in 63 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:54,760 the morning now. No, sorry, he was crucified at 64 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,640 9. It's now noon, so he's been on 65 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,280 the cross for three hours. Now we come to noon, which 66 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,800 should be the brightest point of the entire day. 67 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,880 But instead the Lord does a supernatural thing here. 68 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:11,760 And from the 9th hour, which is noon until 3:00 PM when Jesus 69 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,320 dies and gives up his life, there's darkness over all the 70 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,920 land. This is not an eclipse. 71 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,680 This cannot be an eclipse because Passover is a full moon. 72 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:23,520 So the full moon the night before. 73 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,920 We know this isn't a solar eclipse or this isn't a lunar. 74 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,280 There's no eclipse possible. What's happening here is some 75 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:32,560 sort of supernatural darkness that the Lord brings over the 76 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:34,800 land. We have good reason to believe 77 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,440 just from the passage itself, it would make sense that God brings 78 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,520 darkness over the whole earth. We have historical reason to 79 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:42,640 believe. It was recorded in Egypt, it was 80 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,960 recorded in Rome that this day went dark as well. 81 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:46,680 So this isn't just a local thing. 82 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,880 This isn't just over Jerusalem. This isn't like clouds showed 83 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:51,000 up. There's some sort of 84 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,480 supernatural darkness that is coming now as God is judging 85 00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:00,440 your sin in Christ. Jesus who never sinned, Jesus 86 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,920 who never did anything wrong, is having the fullness of the wrath 87 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:09,120 of God pressed onto him as he is being fully abandoned, which is 88 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,760 some sort of miracle and mystery that we can't explain in the 89 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:14,800 Godhead. Some sort of separation that's 90 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,560 never taken place between the Father, the Son, and the Holy 91 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,560 Spirit is now happening in this moment. 92 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,280 For this three hours. The fullness of sin is being 93 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:24,880 judged and condemned and punished. 94 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,160 All the condemnation that Satan wants you to feel for your sin, 95 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:34,520 all of the guilt that we rightly feel for sin, is also being 96 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:36,320 carried by Christ fully and completely. 97 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:42,040 Now there is darkness over all the land until the 9th hour. 98 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,240 In about the 9th hour I messed up my times with everything I 99 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:49,120 told you, but with the way I read it, the point is we'll stop 100 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,440 using Matthew's time. Jesus was crucified at 9:00 in 101 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,640 the morning. From 9:00 to noon he's on the 102 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,400 cross suffering. At noon the whole land goes 103 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,800 dark, and then at 3:00 PM is when he died. 104 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,480 This is when he cries out though, as God is bringing 105 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,480 supernatural darkness over the land, not a natural darkness. 106 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,280 This is the time we should be experiencing the brightness of 107 00:06:10,280 --> 00:06:12,400 the day. But this is fulfilling what's 108 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:15,080 said in Amos 89700 years earlier. 109 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,320 The Lord said I will make the sun go down at noon. 110 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,680 So God didn't literally make the sun go down at noon, but 111 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,920 figuratively he did. God turns off the light. 112 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,160 It's also brings to mind, takes us back to Egypt. 113 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,920 The last plague before the first born son was killed was 114 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,040 darkness. Darkness came over the land of 115 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,240 Egypt, and then the next plague that happens after that is the 116 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:41,480 death of the first born son. In the same way, darkness comes 117 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:43,920 over the land and now the Passover lamb is killed. 118 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,440 Here again the Passover lamb is killed. 119 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:48,280 This is the very death of God's Son. 120 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,200 Darkness comes as judgment. God is judging sin. 121 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:57,480 As Jesus suffers, Jesus becomes sin, the Scripture says as God 122 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,760 turns from his Son in separation, Jesus now is feeling 123 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,720 for the first time something he's never felt. 124 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,400 He's experiencing something he's never experienced. 125 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,240 The Word of God forever, God forever with God. 126 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,960 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 127 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,040 the Word was God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 128 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,040 And now the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 129 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,520 He's born of a virgin. He's lived his whole life and 130 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,360 fellowship still with the Father and the Holy Spirit until this 131 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,480 moment. He is abandoned. 132 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,120 He is forsaken. The thing that we're all afraid 133 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,760 of, the thing that we've been worried about, will God forsake 134 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:33,880 me? The thing that many people 135 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,360 throughout, throughout the earth, what will happen in the 136 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,360 moment that I die? What will take place? 137 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,120 There's no more vulnerable moment than anyone will ever 138 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,520 experience in the moment when they feel this is the last 139 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:47,400 breath that's about to leave my body. 140 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,000 That moment is coming for you. That moment is coming for me. 141 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,960 So it's supposed to scare me. For those in Christ, not at all. 142 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,440 For those outside of for those outside of Christ, of course. 143 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,600 Absolutely. It's supposed to drive you to 144 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:02,880 the Lord. It's supposed to drive you to 145 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,760 the cross so that you can come into the place of comfort and 146 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,560 know that Jesus was forsaken so that you would not be. 147 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:13,720 Jesus was abandoned so that you never would be. 148 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,080 God's wrath fully comes to bear. Why? 149 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:21,800 Because God hates sin. Remember we said last week, why 150 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,280 was Jesus crucified? We all know he died on the 151 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:25,000 cross. Why? 152 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,800 Because of sin. Back to Genesis 3, Sin is the 153 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,280 problem. Sin is the reason for every 154 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:33,559 brokenness in the world. Sin is the reason for every 155 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:37,799 trauma we've ever experienced. For every sin is the reason that 156 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:42,000 there is a news cycle at all. If there was no sin, there would 157 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:47,240 be no news. Sin is the reason for tornadoes. 158 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,240 Sin is the reason for war. Sin is the reason for all 159 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,560 brokenness. And God hates sin. 160 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,320 But God still loves us. This is the miracle of the 161 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,680 gospel. This is the goodness of God in 162 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:05,160 our sin, in our foolishness, when we love our sin, when we 163 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,160 fight against our sin, it's still not enough. 164 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:10,720 We still have to be saved from our sin. 165 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,840 We have to become a new creation and we have to receive the 166 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,480 sacrifice for sins because we can't sacrifice enough. 167 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,080 Going to church does not save us from our sins. 168 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:23,000 Reading our Bible does not save us from our sins. 169 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,440 Praying does not save us from our sins. 170 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,240 How can I be saved? I put faith in the Lord Jesus 171 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,880 Christ, but what does that mean? Faith doesn't just mean I 172 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,360 believe that Jesus existed. The demons believe Jesus 173 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,560 existed. It doesn't mean I believe He was 174 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:39,040 raised from the dead for all people. 175 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,720 The demons believe this. Believing with my brain the 176 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,320 facts of history does not save my spirit. 177 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,120 Believing with my brain the objective truth of the Word of 178 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,560 God does not save me from my sin. 179 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:56,920 Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry, started His ministry 180 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:01,640 with a call to repentance. He calls people to repent and to 181 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,120 follow Him. This is the same thing that is 182 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:05,640 carried throughout the New Testament. 183 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,640 The reason we have our New Testament also is because of 184 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,640 sin. Most of the letters written to 185 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:16,120 the churches were saying, hey guys, act like Christians, knock 186 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,040 it off, let's adjust, let's correct, let's help, let's 187 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,120 encourage this weakness in you. You, you have been saved now, 188 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:26,240 Christians, and yet you're still sinning here and there. 189 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,160 We want less and less of that. We want holiness. 190 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,920 God requires that we be holy as He is holy. 191 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,120 Without holiness, none shall see God. 192 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:38,080 So there is not a formulaic process for salvation. 193 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,720 There is an upheaval that happens in a person's heart and 194 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,160 they recognize that they are a Sinner and they're crushed by 195 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,360 it. This is what salvation looks 196 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,760 like. I've been reading an 197 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,520 autobiography of an old preacher who was a part of the Great 198 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,600 Awakening. His name was Charles Finney and 199 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,680 the way he writes about salvation continues to move me 200 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,680 and continues to fill me even with more the fear of God. 201 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,240 Whereas we live in an age where we want in, I think with good 202 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:07,720 motive. We want to create such a 203 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,200 simplistic formula for people to come to Christ. 204 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:15,680 So we say, hey, just repeat after me and then it's you're 205 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:18,440 going to be secure. And the way Finney writes about 206 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,840 people's salvation in the, in the particular villages that 207 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,120 he's going to minister to, in the particular places that he's 208 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,840 going, these people like press in through prayer. 209 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,280 And, and they're even people who are convicted. 210 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,320 They hear him preach and they hear him preach again and they 211 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,480 hear him preach again. And then they sit with him and 212 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,760 they want to talk with him. They want to meet with him and 213 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:40,160 he talks with them and he meets with them. 214 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,240 He's telling the story of of a wealthy man in a town who he was 215 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:44,840 meeting with. And the man had come to a 216 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:46,800 meeting and then he'd go into his house and met with him. 217 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,800 And he said, as I was sharing the gospel with him, he said he 218 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:52,400 just put his head down in his hands. 219 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,280 And I thought, oh, he sees the conviction of the Lord coming 220 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,320 upon him. Finney's now about to lead him 221 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:58,600 right, like a Good Shepherd should. 222 00:11:58,600 --> 00:11:59,640 He's about to lead him in prayers. 223 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:01,680 But he said, brother, talk to like, I want to help you. 224 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:03,800 I want to shepherd you. And Finney said I immediately 225 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,640 left the room. I was like, why would you do 226 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:08,160 that? He said I left him to do 227 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:14,000 business with God. Go after him if you want him. 228 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,080 If you're crushed by your sin, like you have enough information 229 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:22,040 to run to Jesus, I'm not going to give you a formulaic path 230 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,120 that gives you confidence in my formula. 231 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,920 I want you to know that you're saved because you've encountered 232 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,880 the living God, not because you've encountered a formula 233 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,200 that I may have compassionately put together for you. 234 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,880 That may be theologically accurate, but that cannot 235 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,240 guarantee what's happening inside of you. 236 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,320 And as a pastor, I have repented for all the times where I may 237 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:47,760 have misled somebody wanting to do what was right, but saying if 238 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,840 you believe and then you repeated, you're secure. 239 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,000 And they're like, am I real? Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep. 240 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,480 Whereas if I could rewind, I'd go, well, tell me your 241 00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,760 understanding of of the Lord Jesus. 242 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:02,000 Tell me about the weight of your sin upon you. 243 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:07,120 Well, like, is it real? Like, because if they've 244 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,560 encountered the living God, they ought to know, know something 245 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:13,880 about that. So what happens over and over in 246 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,360 these villages that he visits? These people go out into the 247 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:22,040 woods alone to mourn and to weep and to pray until they have 248 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,720 apprehended it, until they've apprehended their salvation. 249 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:28,800 Not that they earned it through their prayer, but they just felt 250 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,960 such an angst. They felt such a conviction from 251 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,280 the Holy Spirit that they were not satisfied with cheap 252 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,040 solutions. They would not be satisfied just 253 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:38,800 because some other person told them. 254 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,760 How could you be? Why would you ever be comforted 255 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,440 by another man telling you you're good when you have 256 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,200 something in your heart that's unsettled? 257 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,160 If you have something in your heart that's unsatisfied, pursue 258 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,280 the Lord. Yes, you need to do it with 259 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,760 biblical knowledge. No, you don't need to do some 260 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:57,320 foolishness. I mean that you because you 261 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,240 could take that people go, I feel bad for my sin. 262 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,840 Yes. So press into the grace of God, 263 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,640 not don't beat yourself with whips, which people have done 264 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:07,920 they're they're people have done all kinds of foolish things. 265 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,440 I I don't feel right with God. And then they invent a formula 266 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:13,360 to supposedly comfort themselves. 267 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,840 There's only one comfort. His name is Jesus. 268 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,560 You have to come fully to him fully repentant, fully hating 269 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,160 your sin and saying God, I need to be saved. 270 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,360 And if you don't think you're saved, you can go to Jesus and 271 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,760 settle it and resolve it. Go out into the woods, find a 272 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,320 rock and make it your altar and lay down your life before him. 273 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,640 Go into your prayer closet, whatever you need to do. 274 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,640 But don't, don't entrust your soul into anyone's hands except 275 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,680 the hands of the Lord Jesus. And if you're not certain, then 276 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,520 you can get that certainty. Pastor, are you trying to remove 277 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,160 my confidence? No, I'm preaching the Word of 278 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,080 God to you. I'm showing you your confidence. 279 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,960 Jesus is your substitute. Jesus is your salvation. 280 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,960 Jesus is your solution. But if you're not sure you can 281 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,440 be, and you should be, New Testament Saints should be sure. 282 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:04,880 New Testament Saints should not fear death. 283 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,840 New Testament Saints should look forward to the return of the 284 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:10,800 Lord Jesus Christ. Because like good stewards, New 285 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,760 Testament Saints should be able to say, I've been hoping you'd 286 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:15,800 come back soon. Let me show you what I've been 287 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:17,840 up to. I took what you gave me, Lord, 288 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,360 and I've multiplied it not. I'm not sure I'm ready for him 289 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:22,720 to come back with the way I'm living. 290 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,880 Friend, your soul's the most important thing you've got. 291 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,280 Fear the Lord, love the Lord, receive the grace of the Lord, 292 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:36,200 and pursue the Lord fully. Jesus was abandoned so that you 293 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,440 would not be. God does not want to crush you. 294 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,360 God does not want to abandon you. 295 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:44,240 But if you reject the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will 296 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,360 receive fully what you deserve. The blood of the Lamb had to be 297 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,000 applied to the doorposts of the houses in Israel, in Egypt, the 298 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,680 Israelites in Egypt. And if you didn't, he said you 299 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,440 didn't take the sacrifice. You didn't provide the 300 00:15:58,440 --> 00:15:59,960 sacrifice. Well, then of course you're 301 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:03,600 saying I'll pay my bill myself. Jesus paid your bill. 302 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,880 But if you insist on paying it yourself, then yes, God has 303 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:15,240 created hell for that. Jesus is utterly forsaken, 304 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:19,040 completely abandoned and condemned at this time of day. 305 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:22,560 On this Friday, as he's being crucified, as darkness has come 306 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:24,560 over the land, the people are actually preparing their 307 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,680 Passover lambs. So the Passover meal was going 308 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:29,240 to be eaten actually on Friday evening. 309 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,720 Jesus took it early with the disciples because he wasn't 310 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:33,080 going to be there for Friday evening. 311 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,720 So he's taking it a night early. On Thursday night, he's saying, 312 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:38,280 I've looked forward to having this meal with you. 313 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:40,520 And then, of course, he says, this is the blood. 314 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:41,520 And they're like, yeah, yeah, we know. 315 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:45,920 He says, no, this is my blood. This is the new covenant in my 316 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,760 blood. This is my body. 317 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,040 And they're going, this is different. 318 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:50,800 He just changed the Passover forever. 319 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,640 He's showing us what it always meant, what it was always about. 320 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,080 But right now, the people of Israel are actually cooking 321 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,080 their Passover lambs at the moment when Jesus is 322 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,760 figuratively receiving the most heat and the most pressure and 323 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,480 the most overwhelmed that he could possibly endure. 324 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,520 The Passover lambs are being cooked as Jesus himself is 325 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,839 suffering. The Passover lamb is suffering. 326 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:16,560 God orchestrated all of this and His sovereignty. 327 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:24,160 Of course, Jesus is experiencing the full wrath of God. 328 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,800 And Jesus is quoting Psalm 22 when he says, my God, my God, 329 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,880 why have you forsaken me? He's quoting David 1000 years 330 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:34,560 earlier. David was not praying that 331 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,720 prayer for himself. David was prophesying by the 332 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:42,440 Holy Spirit about the Messiah. All the Jews know that Psalm 22 333 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,360 is about the Messiah. Matthew here writing to Jews 334 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,320 once again goes, hey guys, you know that Psalm? 335 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:53,240 Jesus quotes it on the cross. My God, my God, why have you 336 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:58,640 forsaken me? Even here, Jesus is still 337 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,480 claiming his identity in front of everyone. 338 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,120 He's still saying I am the Messiah, even in his very, very, 339 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,440 very last breaths. He's telling everybody I am the 340 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:09,080 Messiah. Why? 341 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:10,760 Because he's quoting the messianic Psalm. 342 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,080 He's saying God is forsaking me as a substitute. 343 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,440 This is not Jesus confused. This is not Jesus asking a 344 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,040 theological question. God, why have you forsaken me? 345 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:24,960 I'm wondering. This is not Jesus searching for 346 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:27,160 an answer. This is Jesus crying out in 347 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,760 anguish. He's crying out in prayer as the 348 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,600 tortured lamb, and in his wisdom and in his honesty, he prays the 349 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:39,240 Scriptures. You will never know, or I should 350 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,400 say you never have to know, how Jesus felt on the cross when he 351 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,680 was forsaken. So far, none of you have ever 352 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,160 known what it felt like to be forsaken by God. 353 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,560 I've been. I've had some low times. 354 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,400 That may be true. You've had some low times, but 355 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,320 you've never been forsaken by God. 356 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,600 Jesus has Jesus knows what it feels like to be forsaken. 357 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:02,840 The difference is I deserve to be forsaken by God. 358 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,240 If God ever decided to turn from me, I couldn't blame him. 359 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:10,080 I couldn't say why would you? How could you? 360 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,200 Because he could say it's pretty obvious you don't deserve 361 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,840 anything. And yet he turns from Jesus, his 362 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,440 own Son. Jesus is perfect, still on the 363 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,320 cross, sinless, still on the cross, faithful, still on the 364 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,680 cross. We experience pressures, we 365 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,360 experience afflictions, we experience confusion, we 366 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:31,480 experience pain, but we do not experience the abandonment that 367 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,640 he went to, went through, and we never have to. 2nd Corinthians 368 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,320 48 and 9. We are afflicted in every way, 369 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,880 but not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven 370 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,640 to despair. We are persecuted but not 371 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,760 forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. 372 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,400 God abandons Jesus as Jesus becomes sin because God cannot 373 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:58,000 fellowship with sin. Dear Christian, when you sin, 374 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,640 you do not experience a severance in your relationship 375 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,640 with God. Is it possible to eventually get 376 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:06,240 to that place? Yes. 377 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,240 How do I stay saved? The way you got saved by God's 378 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,880 grace through your faith. Do we believe once saved? 379 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,040 Always say, do we believe you can lose your salvation? 380 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:20,760 I don't answer that question the way people like me to answer it. 381 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,960 I answer it this way and I say the way you stay saved is the 382 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,560 way you got saved. So did you get saved? 383 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,360 Yes, I did. And that's how you stay saved by 384 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,160 God's grace through your faith. Both of those things matter. 385 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,560 Your faith doesn't save you in the sense that you've earned 386 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,200 anything because even faith itself is a gift from God that 387 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,200 comes from when we hear the word of God. 388 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:44,440 So he's still the origin of everything. 389 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:46,640 And no point do we go, I had faith. 390 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,800 That's stupid. You're stupid to not have faith. 391 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:55,600 So of course you had faith. But when you sin, the reason you 392 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,360 experience this distortion, you feel like God is far from you. 393 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:00,560 It's not that he's abandoned you. 394 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,720 It's that you've run from your father's house. 395 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,040 You've run from the presence of God. 396 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,400 He still loves you. He's so eager to welcome you 397 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:11,120 back. But a severance in fellowship 398 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,200 can happen without a severance in relationship. 399 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,160 If Natalie and I have a fight, our fellowship has been 400 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,640 hindered. Has our relationship been 401 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,360 severed? No. 402 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:23,640 You're still married. I still love her. 403 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,400 She still loves me, but our fellowship is hindered in the 404 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,360 moment. This can be restored. 405 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,920 This can be healed. It's also possible, though, that 406 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:36,520 Natalie and I fight and we fight and we fight and we fight and we 407 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,640 fight, and eventually we say we're severing the relationship. 408 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,480 We're divorcing now. We're not in covenant any 409 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,360 longer. We've broken our covenant. 410 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:49,800 We've severed everything and we are separate. 411 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,200 This is a quick and simple picture of what salvation could 412 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,640 look like. I thought I was told once I was 413 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,720 saved, I would always be saved. Well, they're they're brothers 414 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,000 and sisters in Christ who interpret the Scriptures 415 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,120 differently on these passages. I think it's I land where I land 416 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,000 and I think I have very strong biblical precedent for it. 417 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,080 Obviously, this is one of those things that I do pound the 418 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:15,280 pulpit on because I do think those who endure to the end will 419 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,360 be saved. I think Hebrews makes a lot of 420 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:23,000 this very plain and very clear. But you're not abandoned by God. 421 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,000 You're not forsaken by God. We forsake God. 422 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,840 We might abandoned God, but he does not abandon us. 423 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,600 When you have physical or emotional pain, you can and you 424 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,320 should call out to God. Yes, He is an ever present help 425 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,680 in a time of need. But Jesus calls out to God in 426 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,280 his time of need. God did not answer him. 427 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,960 He calls out. He's crying out. 428 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,880 Jesus is loyal to God. Jesus is faithful to God all the 429 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,200 way to the end. And God abandons Jesus. 430 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,600 That's wild to me. Jesus is that devoted to his 431 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:01,280 Father. Father, I love you. 432 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:03,920 Father, where are you? And his Father left him. 433 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,560 Father, I love you. Father, I'm still yours. 434 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:09,840 Father, I'm doing everything you wanted me to do. 435 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,680 I'm doing everything I wanted to do. 436 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:13,760 Father, where are you? His father? 437 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,160 Not only does he not answer, he continues to crush him as Isaiah 438 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,360 told us he would. It pleased the Father to crush 439 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:23,480 him is why I want you to have such confidence to know that 440 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,320 there is a mechanism for your salvation. 441 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,840 It is not a vague sentimentality. 442 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:32,240 It is not a vague spirituality. There is a way that humanity 443 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:35,200 must be saved and there is no other way that they can be. 444 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,120 And it is through this man, the God, man, the Lord Jesus Christ, 445 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:43,960 perfectly fulfilling God's will, being the perfect sacrifice all 446 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,960 the way to the end. His prayer is not answered. 447 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,600 He is not comforted. He receives no peace. 448 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:54,520 God has completely forsaken him. Jesus's cry to the Father is met 449 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,960 with condemnation and wrath, so that your cry to the Father 450 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,360 would be met with love and comfort and forgiveness. 451 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,160 This is how justice works. This is how satisfaction works 452 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,720 in the heart of God. Jesus calling out to the God he 453 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:12,720 loves. My God, my God, still loyal, 454 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:18,160 still faithful, still loving, brings to mind Job 1315. 455 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:20,440 Though he slay me, I will hope in him. 456 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,800 Jesus stays faithful even when he's been abandoned by God. 457 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,160 How much more can you and I remain faithful when God is 458 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:33,520 always with us and pursuing us? God is actively pursuing us with 459 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,800 His love and with His grace. He is actively giving us 460 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,400 opportunity to draw near to Him in fellowship, to grow in 461 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,920 holiness, to repent of sin. He's patient with us, but it's 462 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:45,520 not because he's tolerant of sin. 463 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:51,960 It's because Jesus has brought such mercy and grace through his 464 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,920 absorption of our sin so that we can become the righteousness of 465 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,120 God. Church, you should call out to 466 00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,760 the Father, not just in moments of deep desperation. 467 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,920 Jesus did not cry out only when he was on the cross. 468 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:06,160 Jesus lived in fellowship with God the Father. 469 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:07,680 He prayed. He got alone. 470 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,640 He lived with God. Your loyalty and your devotion 471 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,680 to God should be the most important thing in your life. 472 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,120 It should be the deepest prayer and the highest value of your 473 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:21,120 soul that you would stay loyal and faithful to God all the days 474 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:28,400 of your life, no matter what. You got nothing better to do to 475 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,160 be obedient, to endure to the end. 476 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,440 We want to be faithful all the way to our dying breath like 477 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,680 Jesus was. What a man, the perfect man. 478 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:43,920 Verse 47 after he cries out some of the bystanders hearing it 479 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:48,240 said this man is calling Elijah. So what might have happened 480 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:49,520 here? We don't know for sure. 481 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,280 Whenever he called out Eli, Eli, someone could have misheard. 482 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,600 So my God, my God, they could have also heard Elijah's name 483 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,720 also has God in his name. So someone might have misheard 484 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,240 what he was saying. And there was a a Jewish 485 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,680 superstition at the time that Elijah might come and help 486 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,040 someone who's in need. Elijah might come help a 487 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,800 suffering man. So this then turns to mocking. 488 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,480 Maybe someone in verse 48 has compassion on him. 489 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,320 Maybe someone has an ounce of humanity as the fear of God 490 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,680 probably fills everybody with the darkness, the supernatural 491 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:24,080 darkness that's come over the land. 492 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,000 And at once one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with 493 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,040 sour wine, put it on a Reed and gave it to him to drink. 494 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,080 So theologians have debated on what happened here. 495 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,440 The Roman soldiers also would have been known to give you 496 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,680 something to drink to sustain your life, to increase your 497 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,880 suffering. You're most likely going to take 498 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,520 the drink because you are an excruciating thirst as your your 499 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,640 fluids have been leaving your body for hours now. 500 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,520 So was this a Roman guard saying oh let me just add to the 501 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,800 torment he's crying out. Was this a a laughing Roman 502 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:57,960 guard? I don't know. 503 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:00,160 I tend to think not. I tend to think that the 504 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,240 supernatural darkness that's come over the land is haunting 505 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:05,920 and terrifying to everyone. I tend to think this is more 506 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:10,080 someone, maybe a Roman, maybe not, but someone going, he's 507 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,160 crying out to God. And maybe they actually felt a 508 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,160 bit of compassion. This drink that they gave him, 509 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:16,600 this was not the narcotic that they tried to give him before. 510 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,400 The narcotic they tried to give him before was a pain numbing 511 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:24,480 substance that was called gall. This is a sour wine, a mix with 512 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,880 water and vinegar. Most likely this would have been 513 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,520 a drink that soldiers and laborers had available. 514 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,800 This is the this is their, their, their cheap Gatorade that 515 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,000 they mixed up and this is something that they just had 516 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,360 available to them. This is most likely what's being 517 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:40,400 offered to him. The sponge has been speculated 518 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,720 that the sponge was most likely a toilet brush. 519 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,600 Why you might have wondered if you ever why is there a sponge 520 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,960 on top of this mountain? So most likely the sponge is 521 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,440 used for bathroom purposes. So potential cruelty, potential 522 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,080 mockery, We really don't know all the details. 523 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,040 But it was put on a stick because the crosses were 524 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:00,480 elevated and they can't reach his mouth. 525 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,080 And that's why it's raised on a stick up to his mouth. 526 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,320 So either way, the mocking continues. 527 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:10,080 They once took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a 528 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:11,800 Reed and gave it to him to drink. 529 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,080 Verse 49. But the other said, wait, let us 530 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,960 see whether Elijah will come to save him. 531 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,680 So they're saying, no, no, no, don't give any assistance, don't 532 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,440 give any compassion, don't give any care, don't give any help. 533 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,280 Still, the mocking that had happened from 9:00 to noon was 534 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,680 happening even now, most likely the Jewish leaders are still 535 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,600 mocking because nothing moved these men, even after a few days 536 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:36,520 later, even after the resurrection of Jesus, they're 537 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,440 still not moved. Even after they know that he was 538 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,680 raised from the dead, They don't go whoopsie, they go well, we'll 539 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:51,720 cover this up as well. When you see someone without the 540 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,640 fear of God, it's a baffling thing to see. 541 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,400 I've seen it multiple times in my life and it is a it is just 542 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,680 baffling. It's so unnatural when you see 543 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,760 someone without the fear of God. It's a it's a strange thing that 544 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,760 you can't, you can't make sense of it. 545 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:10,440 Have you, have you ever been in that situation? 546 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,280 Maybe it's been you. Maybe people have seen you in 547 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:14,600 your life. And and they're like, what is up 548 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,000 with them? They don't have the fear of God. 549 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,400 There's No Fear of God in their eyes. 550 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:19,920 Like, but what about the Lord? Yeah, but I like my sin. 551 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,560 Yeah, but but what about what's going on there? 552 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,200 What do they need? They need you to pray for them 553 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,800 because they've been blinded. They're so far deceived. 554 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,560 It's not natural what's taking place. 555 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,520 It is a deception. So what? 556 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,880 What can help them? They need the breakthrough, the 557 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,160 Holy Spirit. They need the blinders to come 558 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,240 off of their eyes. You think if I could explain it 559 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,560 to them, or if so and so would meet with them, or if this thing 560 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:44,280 would happen, or if that thing would happen? 561 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:46,080 You're looking to natural circumstances. 562 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:47,480 You're looking at natural solutions. 563 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,080 You're trying to solve a supernatural problem with 564 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:52,760 natural solutions, and it won't work. 565 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,880 God has to breakthrough, just like you did for anyone who He's 566 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,000 ever saved. God has to breakthrough and 567 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,280 bring conviction of sin and deliverance into the light. 568 00:30:15,330 --> 00:30:18,010 Wait, let's see whether Elijah will come to save him. 569 00:30:19,450 --> 00:30:21,250 Elijah had already come to help Jesus. 570 00:30:21,250 --> 00:30:26,930 He had done so with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration, maybe 571 00:30:26,930 --> 00:30:29,010 a few weeks earlier, maybe a few months earlier. 572 00:30:29,090 --> 00:30:31,330 But remember, Jesus goes up to the top. 573 00:30:32,530 --> 00:30:35,840 He brings Peter, James and John with him, and Moses and Elijah 574 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:38,920 appear to the Lord Jesus and they talked with him about his 575 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,360 soon coming departure. They would have encouraged the 576 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,000 Lord that day. What a fascinating conversation 577 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:47,440 for the disciples to have witnessed, to have heard, to 578 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:49,280 have listened to, if they could even hear it at all. 579 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,320 Jesus was glowing, his clothes shining wider and brighter than 580 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,960 any light. Moses representing the Law, 581 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:00,800 Elijah representing the prophets. 582 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,920 They spoke with him about this day, about this moment. 583 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,240 They spoke with him about everything he would endure. 584 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,320 Elijah helped prepare Jesus for this moment, just like Moses 585 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,280 did, and they encouraged him in the fulfilment of his mission. 586 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,480 Verse 50. And Jesus cried out again with a 587 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,560 loud voice and yielded up His Spirit. 588 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,400 Here we have the way, the truth and life Himself yielding up His 589 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:28,920 Spirit. He permitted His Spirit to be 590 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,480 sent away from His body. It's just like He said in John 591 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,880 1017 and 18. No one takes my life from me, 592 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:36,800 but I lay it down to my own accord. 593 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:41,000 Men didn't die on the cross because they said I choose to 594 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:41,600 die. Now. 595 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,400 Men died on the cross because they suffocated to death. 596 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:49,760 Their ankles nailed, straddling either side of the cross, their 597 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,400 wrists pierced. They would have to press 598 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,200 themselves up to expand their ribs to take their next breath. 599 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,040 And eventually their weakness increased that they're 600 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,240 suffocating, they're getting less and less air. 601 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,720 They suffocate to death because they can't even take their next 602 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:05,520 breath. This isn't how Jesus dies. 603 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:10,800 He dies with full lungs, he dies with shouts, and he dies by 604 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,720 giving up his life. Nobody could kill Jesus. 605 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:22,160 But Jesus said I give up my spirit now Jesus did not die 606 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:24,440 from weakness the way men normally died. 607 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,040 Jesus gives up his own spirit. John tells us that Jesus also 608 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:33,080 cries in these last moments. What he exactly says? 609 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:37,640 He yells out a in a loud voice for all to hear, not a whisper 610 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,680 with his barely with his his last breath of suffocation. 611 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:49,440 He yells out, it is finished. Just such strength of heart, 612 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:53,880 such devotion to God in our in our best moments. 613 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,480 The reason they are they are our best moments is because we are 614 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:02,480 filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is alone, but Jesus is 615 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:05,960 still Jesus. He has no father with him. 616 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,160 He has no Holy Spirit with him and he's been abandoned and 617 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,680 forsaken. But thank God, Jesus is still 618 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,000 Jesus and he accomplishes his mission. 619 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,440 It is finished as in it is accomplished as in I did it 620 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:22,920 completely. I did it His very last moment, 621 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,560 33 years up to this moment, Perfection, no sin. 622 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,160 The three years of ministry, the disciples that he trained who 623 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,600 are scattered at the moment, who He knows are going to be 624 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,480 restored to actually turn the world upside down. 625 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,000 The people that He healed, the sinlessness that he walked 626 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,120 through. And then this day, starting from 627 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,760 last night in the garden, all the way up and through this 628 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,640 moment, I did it. I accomplished it. 629 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,760 He has the full satisfaction. He has the full knowledge. 630 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:54,400 He knows that He has fulfilled the will of the Father, that he 631 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:58,440 has absorbed the full wrath of God for the sin of mankind from 632 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,760 Adam all the way to whoever is going to be last. 633 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,040 I saved them. I took all the sin. 634 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,480 I took all the shame. I swallowed all the 635 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,520 condemnation. I took all the wrath. 636 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:14,600 I took all the judgment. I rescued my church, I fulfilled 637 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,560 the mission, I obeyed the Father. 638 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:23,679 I was perfect. Jesus was perfect, flawless, 639 00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:30,280 flawless victory. Praise God, after He has full 640 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,239 confirmation and certainty that He has accomplished the mission, 641 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,560 He then calls out the very last thing he says. 642 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,880 Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. 643 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,120 And with that He breathed his last. 644 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,440 What a mighty exit for our glorious King. 645 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,280 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 646 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,680 And then it is finished. And then, Father, I commit 647 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:06,120 myself into your hands, still faithful, the abandoned Jesus, 648 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,760 the tormented Jesus, the judged Jesus, the crushed Jesus, the 649 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,200 suffering savior, the suffering servant, the suffering son says, 650 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,120 Father, I trust you. The father hadn't answered him. 651 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,840 The father hadn't comforted him. And he said as as Jesus is 652 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:22,880 swallowed in darkness, he says, Father, I give myself to you 653 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:32,440 whatever comes next. Verse 51 And behold, the curtain 654 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:35,800 of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the 655 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,360 earth shook and the rocks were split. 656 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:42,040 Now the Father wants to preach. Now the Father wants to declare. 657 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,600 Now the Father wants everyone to know that he just crucified his 658 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,400 Son. God announced the new era that 659 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:50,440 Christ has just accomplished. Redemption has been 660 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,640 accomplished. Forgiveness of sins has been 661 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:54,520 purchased. And this dramatic and 662 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:58,280 magnificent event starts happening in the temple. 663 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:00,720 There was a room called the Holy of Holies. 664 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:07,200 This was I think 30 by 30 room 3030, thirty perfect cube. 665 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:09,520 And this is where you can't just go in whenever you want. 666 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:11,280 I want to go pray today. I'd like to go to the temple and 667 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:12,480 we'll go into the Holy of Holies. 668 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,480 This is where the manifest presence of God dwells. 669 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,240 I can't live in people. People are sinful. 670 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,880 So God lives in this room, this sacred room, this holy room. 671 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:23,480 But you can't just go in anytime you want. 672 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:27,600 Oh, you can't go in ever. Only the high priest can go in, 673 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:29,320 but he can't go in whenever he wants. 674 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:33,280 He can go in one day out of the year on the Day of Atonement, 675 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:41,720 and that's it. This room has a massive curtain 676 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:44,360 hanging in front of it. It serves as the doorway of how 677 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,840 they would enter in. This curtain was at least 30 678 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,600 feet tall and according to history we think it was around 3 679 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,920 to 4 inches thick. Matthew says it was torn from 680 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:59,480 top to bottom. It's been said as it was done as 681 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,280 though God himself grabs it from above and rips it. 682 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:04,360 What is this doing? What's the purpose of this? 683 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,520 This shows us deliberately the Lord is using the physical to 684 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:10,880 preach the spiritual and say my spirit is no longer confined to 685 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:15,000 a room and I am pouring out my spirit on all flesh through the 686 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:19,200 death of Jesus. God is saying people can now be 687 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:23,040 my temple. We could not before they had, we 688 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,360 had to have the temple. And the moment Jesus died, the 689 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:29,600 Father said well done son and that won't be needed anymore. 690 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,040 He's so pleased with Jesus, which is why he gives them the 691 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:36,160 name above every name. The Father loves Jesus. 692 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,000 Make no mistake, there's not a cruelty from the Father in 693 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,640 anything that I described. This is the will of the Father. 694 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:44,120 This is the will of Jesus because of his love for us. 695 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:45,480 This is the will of the Holy Spirit. 696 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,200 So God tears this curtain from top to bottom. 697 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,440 The Lord is showing His presence is no longer going to be 698 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,960 confined to a building through the death of His Jesus. 699 00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,600 He has now made other holy temples. 700 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,080 He can dwell in us because of the sacrifice of Jesus. 701 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,720 Pentecost is also coming. The Holy Spirit would fill the 702 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:09,760 people of God. That's impossible before the 703 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,560 sacrifice of Jesus because we were not holy temples. 704 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,840 But now through Christ, holy temples can be filled by God. 705 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,600 This is good news for all of us because God wants to be with us. 706 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:26,040 God wants to be with you. God loves you. 707 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,560 God wants to be with you. It's what you were built for. 708 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,440 It's the reason he made humanity. 709 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:35,880 God would come and walk with Adam in the cool of the day. 710 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,640 And it was supposed to say, and we all lived happily ever after. 711 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:42,520 That was it. That was supposed to be the 712 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,320 book. And we're just here and all is 713 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:49,600 well and all is delightful. But early on, Adam blew it, and 714 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:53,280 now we're all born as sinners. Now we're all doomed. 715 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:57,080 But the Lord we're, we're in this massive, beautiful detour, 716 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:01,120 this whole middle of your Bible, this whole chunk here. 717 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,240 In the beginning we walked with him in the cool of the day. 718 00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:07,080 And at the end we get back to the garden. 719 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,800 But there's no snake in it. And there can never be any more 720 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:12,960 temptation. There can never be any more 721 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:15,800 suffering, there can never be any more tears, there can never 722 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:17,600 be any more pain. And we'll have the marriage 723 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:22,360 supper of the lamb to celebrate and and the marriage will 724 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,200 continue forever and ever and ever. 725 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,760 The earthquake's another supernatural announcement of the 726 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,040 significance of Jesus death. The Father's declaring that 727 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:48,720 something monumental is taking place. 728 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:52,200 So God is shaking things. We don't know how far, how 729 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:54,560 widespread the earthquake was there. 730 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,640 I've heard some historians say that there was a global 731 00:39:57,640 --> 00:39:59,600 earthquake on that day. I've heard different reports. 732 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:03,600 I don't really care. God shook the earth. 733 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:07,480 He's declaring things, but he does something wild here in 734 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,320 verse 52. Unexpected, unpredictable. 735 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,880 The tombs also were opened and many bodies of the Saints who 736 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:19,720 had fallen asleep. That means death. 737 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:24,120 Many people who had died were raised and coming out of the 738 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,680 tombs. After his resurrection, they 739 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,760 went into the city and appeared to many. 740 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:32,680 So at the crucifixion, at the death of Jesus, people are 741 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:34,400 raised from the dead in the tombs. 742 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:38,000 They stay in the tombs, and they come out of the tombs with 743 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:42,720 Christ after his resurrection. This is wild. 744 00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:46,640 What's the point? God makes plain from the very 745 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:50,080 first moment that the death of Jesus brings life to others. 746 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:53,640 Jesus had already raised people from the dead. 747 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,800 But right away we see Jesus has victory over death. 748 00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:00,520 Jesus just beat death even before the resurrection because 749 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,480 he still is the life. He has conquered death. 750 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:06,680 So this is a foretaste of the resurrection of Jesus and a 751 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:09,920 foretaste of the resurrection for All Saints to come. 752 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,560 These people who are raised on this day, they die again. 753 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,200 They don't, they don't have glorified bodies like Jesus has 754 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:20,720 after his resurrection. Right now, Jesus is the one with 755 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:23,360 the glorified body. But it's still the promise. 756 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:27,320 It's still the comfort for all of us that we will not all stay 757 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:29,840 dead. We will be raised, will be 758 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:33,360 resurrected like Jesus. The devil also gets noticed 759 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:35,760 right away. Through all these supernatural 760 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:39,200 events that the Lord is bringing to pass, Jesus has accomplished 761 00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:42,360 His mission. If Satan had any doubt, like I 762 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,720 see this guy dying, I know who he is, I know what he's doing, I 763 00:41:44,720 --> 00:41:47,040 know what the point is here. But did he really fulfill it 764 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:48,720 perfectly? There's no doubt. 765 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:50,640 He is the sinless, spotless lamb. 766 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:53,480 He is the final and only acceptable sacrifice. 767 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:03,320 Hebrews chapter 2, verse 10. For it was fitting that He for 768 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:07,720 whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to 769 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:11,160 glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect 770 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:15,040 through suffering. For He who sanctifies and those 771 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:16,920 who are sanctified, all have one source. 772 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:21,040 That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I 773 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:23,400 will tell your name to my brothers in the midst of the 774 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:26,760 congregation, I will sing your praise, and again I will put my 775 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,920 trust in him. And again, behold, I and the 776 00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:33,760 children God has given me. Since therefore the children 777 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:37,440 share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook in the 778 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:41,560 same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has 779 00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:46,800 the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who 780 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:50,440 through fear were subject to lifelong slavery. 781 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:54,520 Don't be afraid. Do not subject yourself to 782 00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:56,440 lifelong slavery and fear of death. 783 00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:59,760 Dear Christian, do not fear death. 784 00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:03,760 You will never really die. You will live in glory forever 785 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:06,040 with your Savior. Dear, not yet, Christian. 786 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:11,160 Dear former Christian, Dear fruitless friend who thinks 787 00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:14,440 you're Christian because you received bad information or have 788 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,920 some misunderstanding, come to the only acceptable sacrifice 789 00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:22,280 and be received into His loving and forgiving outstretched arms. 790 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:25,880 Jesus will free you from your sin. 791 00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:29,640 Jesus will free you from your fear of death and from the wrath 792 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:31,840 of God that you deserve. Because Jesus really did pay at 793 00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:35,800 all. Don't forsake His kindness. 794 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:43,360 Don't overlook His goodness and His grace to you don't go to 795 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:49,120 hell. God doesn't want you to. 796 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:52,400 You don't want to, you don't have to. 797 00:43:55,880 --> 00:44:00,240 Verse 54 When the centurion and those who are with him keeping 798 00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:02,760 watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, 799 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:07,280 they were all filled with awe and said truly this was the Son 800 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:09,960 of God. These are soldiers, they have 801 00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:12,640 killed a lot of people in combat and they have crucified a lot of 802 00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:15,400 men on the cross. This was supposed to be just 803 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,680 another crucifixion for them, but they are filled with fear 804 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:21,880 and enough faith to recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, 805 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:27,440 His own people. The Jews denied it, but the 806 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:30,680 Gentiles saw it. Another foretaste for all of us 807 00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:33,040 Gentiles that we will be grafted in. 808 00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:39,200 The Lord is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, and we're 809 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:43,600 closing in verse 55. There also were many women there 810 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,800 looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, 811 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:50,400 ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary, 812 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:54,400 the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of 813 00:44:54,400 --> 00:45:02,760 Zebedee, faithful mothers, caring mothers, gracious 814 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,000 mothers. But at the time of his writing, 815 00:45:10,720 --> 00:45:15,920 no authors would have been presenting women as the heroes 816 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:19,480 and men as the scattered cowards, which is exactly what 817 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,600 had happened. The disciples had scattered. 818 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:23,360 We don't know which disciples were there. 819 00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:26,240 We know John was there. We don't know which other 820 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:27,920 disciples had scattered. We don't know the distance. 821 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:30,200 He says the women are at a distance, looking on. 822 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:34,560 But we know John and Mary were close enough for Jesus to speak 823 00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:38,640 to both of them so that they would care for one another. 824 00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:47,200 But Matthew's honesty gives even more historical weight to the 825 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:50,400 Gospels because the disciples are not presented as heroes 826 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:52,200 here. The women are there. 827 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:54,080 The disciples most likely are not. 828 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:57,200 When men write stories about themselves, the temptation is to 829 00:45:57,200 --> 00:45:58,680 write themselves in a better light. 830 00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:01,880 But the disciples are shown failing over and over and over 831 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,360 in the Scriptures. There's one who always gets the 832 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:05,560 glory. It's Jesus. 833 00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:08,960 Jesus always gets the credit. He earned it. 834 00:46:09,240 --> 00:46:13,720 He suffered for it. What are we supposed to do with 835 00:46:13,720 --> 00:46:16,360 this? Don't pity Jesus. 836 00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:20,120 He does not need your pity. He does not need your sympathy. 837 00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:23,600 He does not need your tenderness. 838 00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:28,760 Jesus calls for your repentance. Jesus calls for your love. 839 00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:31,480 He calls for your worship. He calls for your devotion. 840 00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:34,720 He came to show how much He loves you as your divine 841 00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:38,680 substitute. Jesus experienced A horrific 842 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:41,840 divine abandonment, and that is the greatest of all human 843 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:43,520 horrors. To be completely abandoned by 844 00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:46,640 God, to be forsaken by the Lord, to be left alone. 845 00:46:46,640 --> 00:46:49,600 This is what Jesus experienced and he traded places with you. 846 00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:51,880 What am I supposed to do with that? 847 00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:54,680 Worship them. Love the Lord your God with all 848 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:56,280 your heart, soul, mind and strength. 849 00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:58,560 That's what you're supposed to do with it. 850 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:03,040 Realize that there is forgiveness of your sins. 851 00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:05,880 Realize that if you're a Christian and you feel 852 00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:10,400 condemnation, I'm not talking about the guilt that we should 853 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:14,000 feel when we do sin, that we we get rid of through confession 854 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,880 and repentance. I don't want to confuse anyone 855 00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:19,000 and think, Oh yeah, every time I sin, I shouldn't feel bad. 856 00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:21,320 No, that's foolishness and that's unscriptural. 857 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,200 But what I'm talking about is things in your past that you 858 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:28,520 have repented of and turned from, and still you feel 859 00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:30,960 condemnation and condemnation and condemnation. 860 00:47:31,720 --> 00:47:32,800 What should I do with that? Pastor? 861 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:36,560 You should believe the gospel. Your problem is if I need to 862 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:38,720 forgive myself. No, your problem is unbelief. 863 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:42,680 Believe the gospel. Believe that Jesus was crushed. 864 00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:45,440 See the suffering servant on the cross. 865 00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:49,440 Stop thinking such a big deal of yourself and think a big deal 866 00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:52,120 about Jesus. Oh, my sin is so great. 867 00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:55,160 You haven't looked closely enough to the cross. 868 00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:59,320 His love was greater. Oh, I think the Lord put other 869 00:47:59,320 --> 00:48:01,720 people's sins on Christ, but I don't know about all of mine. 870 00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:07,000 Friend, believe the gospel. All of it was carried by Christ. 871 00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:11,600 How could you not love Jesus? I don't get in. 872 00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:15,080 How could you not want him more? How could you not pursue him 873 00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:17,800 more? Like we said, it's it must just 874 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:21,160 be the blinders of Satan. Anytime that we're not loving 875 00:48:21,160 --> 00:48:24,680 the Lord, we're deceived because he's so good and he's so worthy. 876 00:48:25,880 --> 00:48:29,600 We only get upgrades. Jesus was downgraded that we 877 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:32,640 would be upgraded. We're going to close and and 878 00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:35,520 worship with one song and then we're going to take communion 879 00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:39,440 together. Would you stand as we sing? 880 00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:40,440 Jesus paid it all.