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God, from my mother's belly, be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws, and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O Lord, all my strength hasteth thee to help me deliver my soul from the sword, my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorn. I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation while I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him, all ye the seed of Jacob. Glorify him and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither hath he hid his face from him, but when he cried unto him he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation, I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied, they shall praise the Lord and seek him. Your heart shall live forever, all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon the earth shall eat and worship. All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and none can keep alive his own soul. As seed shall serve him, it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people and shall be born, and he hath done this. That he hath done this. Brother Fabian, can you pray for us? Dear Lord, I'm coming for you on Thanksgiving, Lord, and I pray that you will bless everyone here in the world, and bless the free world, and I pray that you bless Brother Corbin and my spirit, and help us preach your word, Lord, and help us apply a sermon into our lives, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen. So, Psalms chapter 22, of course, there's a lot in there, and if you're familiar with some of these verses, you might have even recognized some of them. Of course, verse one is a very famous one where it says, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Of course, this is one of the statements that Jesus Christ made from the cross when he was crucified, and that's really what I want to preach to you about this morning is the death of Christ. That's the title of the sermon, the death of Christ. Of course, we're coming into the Easter season, and it's a subject that's going to be on our minds. Of course, we think about the resurrection often, but there never would have been a resurrection if there hadn't been a death, so I thought maybe this Sunday it'd be appropriate to talk about the death of Christ, and you know, it's not a very pleasant subject, but it's something I think that we need to be reminded of from time to time to fully grasp and understand exactly what it is that Jesus Christ suffered for us, and I really only have three points this morning. I won't take long. It's really not something that has to be carried out or explained to a great degree. It's based on a deep doctrine, but it's a very important one, and it's one that should be very sobering and something that we need to think about from time to time. So the first thing we need to understand about the death of Christ is that it was painful and gruesome. This is not a pleasant story. This is something that is very, there was a lot of pain, physical pain, emotional pain, that went into the death of Christ, and it's a very gruesome death that Jesus Christ died. We're going to talk about it and get into it a little bit about some of those details, so be forewarned. It's not going to be a pretty picture when we read the scriptures, though. I think sometimes we can be kind of, just read about the crucifixion and the gospels and sometimes we can just kind of gloss over that. It's something that we become more and more familiar with over time. We understand that Christ died, but it's always good to hear a sermon like this again to remind us again once more of what it is that Christ suffered when Christ died. So the very first thing I want us to understand about the death of Christ is that it was painful. In fact, if you would, turn over to Matthew chapter 26. Keep something in Psalms 22, apologize, keep something there throughout the sermon, we'll be back and forth a few times, but go to Matthew chapter 26. The death of Christ was a very painful death. It wasn't something that was easy for him to do, it wasn't something that he, you know, because he was God, sometimes we get this idea that everything came easy to Jesus Christ. The Bible says he was tempted in all points like yes we are. You know, he suffered greatly. And if you're there in Matthew 26, we'll see that it was so painful, in fact, we often think of the physical pain that Jesus Christ went through, and of course we'll talk about that, but there was also the emotional, psychological pain that Jesus Christ suffered. It was so intense that in fact it caused him to suffer even spiritually or in his mind or in his spirit, if you want to say. It says there in Matthew 26, verse 36, of course this is after the Last Supper and Jesus is going into the garden with his disciples, it says, Then cometh Jesus with unto them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto disciples, Siggy, here will I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. You know, he was, this was something that was weighing him down, he was very heavy. He would say, in today's modern vernacular would say that he was very depressed, he was very down, he was feeling very sorrowful. It says there in verse 38, Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Tear ye here, and watch with me. Now we can think about seasons in our own life, perhaps when we're going through a difficult time or going through a trial, and we think about sometimes the fact that we get down, we get depressed, we're feeling down in the dumps, but have you ever been so exceedingly sorrowful even unto the point of death? Maybe you have. Maybe there's been some trial in life, you'd say, you know what, I'd rather die. I'd rather it be better for me that I were even dead. That's where Jesus Christ was here, and I don't think he was just being overly dramatic, I don't think he was just, I think he really was felt that way, he felt so exceedingly sorrowful about what he was going to go through, that he said he was sorrowful even unto death. See crucifixion often we think about just the physical torture that a person goes through, but a part of that torture that the Romans would use is psychological. They would often, from what I read, they would imprison the person that he sacrificed and they would put him in the gym, they would make sure that he was imprisoned the night before. Imagine facing execution the next day with a thing, I don't think he would sleep at all. In fact, Jesus Christ didn't for several reasons, we'll see here. But I mean if you were to sit there and know that the next day when the sun came up was the day of your death, I think that would probably put most of us in a pretty bad mood. And that's exactly what Jesus went through, he went through some severe emotional and psychological pain. Now if you would turn over to Luke chapter 22, I believe that this emotional pain even caused him to sweat to the point of blood. And I personally believe that when the Bible says that Jesus Christ sweat great drops of blood, that he literally sweat great drops of blood. That's my opinion. Whenever I've read that or heard that story, I've never questioned that. And I've heard, I know sometimes that atheists and things will bring that up, like is that even possible, how could that be? And I don't feel like, I don't have a need to try and explain that away or try to explain that other than what the Bible says. It says there in Luke chapter 22, verse 41, when he was withdrawn from about a cast stone, so this is again in the garden, where he goes apart to pray, and kneeled down and prayed, saying Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him, and being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. So it says that his sweat were as great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Now the one objection I've heard is the as it were objection. People will say well it says as it were great drops of blood, doesn't mean it was great drops of blood. And I'm not going to spend a lot of time at this point because we don't need to split hairs over this, this isn't the most important thing. But I want to make this point because of the fact that I think this speaks to the psychological and emotional pain that Jesus Christ was going through. They'll say well it's as it were, but that phrase is used quite often in scripture, as it were. In fact it's used in Exodus 24, I'll read to you where it says, and they saw the God of Israel, of course this is the elders of the tribes of Israel going up in the mountain when God came down on the mount in Sinai, and they saw the God of Israel and there were under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone. So there was as it were, it appeared to be there. And as it were, the body of heavens in his clearness. That's what it looked like when it says that, that's what it's saying, as it were, that's what it looked like. And when they saw Jesus here, sweating great drops of blood, it looked like he was sweating great drops of blood. That's what it looked like because that's what he was doing. It says in Numbers 9, 15, I'll read to you, on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely the tent of the testimony, and even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire until the morning. Why was it as it were? Because that's what they saw. They saw fire coming down, that's why they said that's as it were. John chapter 7 in the New Testament uses the same terminology. In verse 10 it says, but when his brethren were gone up, Jesus' brethren, then he went he also up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. So did he actually go in secret or did it just appear as if he were going in secret? No, he actually went in secret. That's what took place. Acts chapter 17, this phrase is used multiple times in Scripture. I'm just giving us a few uses of it. Acts 17, the Bible says, but when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached to Paul and Maria, they came thither also and stirred up the people and then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea. Now did Paul look like he was going there but didn't actually go there, it just appeared as if he was going there? No, it's because he actually went there, that's why, as it were. That's why I don't have any problem with saying this this morning that when Jesus dropped as it were, great drops of sweat as if it were blood, that he was literally sweating blood. In fact, this is a known medical condition that people can actually suffer this. You can go look this up on the internet. You can go to Wikipedia and you can see photos of people doing this. It's called hematidrosis, also called blood sweat. That's the medical terminology that they use for this. It is a very rare condition in which a human sweats blood. Now it's usually something that happens when a person is under a great deal of emotional or physical stress. That's why it's that rare. I don't think anybody in this room is in danger of doing this. Perhaps one day, maybe if we face a tribulation or a situation like Jesus Christ is facing but we'll be under such emotional and physical stress that we will actually sweat great drops of blood. It's possible. That's where Jesus Christ was and it's important to understand that because we need to understand exactly what it is our Lord suffered when he went and died for us. Now it's interesting that this is recorded in the book of Luke and what was Luke? He was a physician. He was a doctor. So he's the only one that records that he was the one that actually could describe this medical condition that I believe Jesus exhibited when he was in the garden. So we see first of all that the death of Christ was very painful. Not just physically but emotionally, psychologically Jesus Christ was suffering in the garden. He knew what was about to happen to him and that's why he even had to pray and even ask God if it were possible to let that cut pass from him. That he would have rather in his humanly speaking to allow that to not have to go through what he did. But he learned obedience to the things which he suffered even the death of the cross. That he was willing to go through that and learned obedience and became a servant and submitted to the will of the Father and allowed himself to suffer these things. So not only was it painful emotionally but it was also painful physically. If you would turn over to Luke chapter 22. Bible says in Isaiah 50, I gave my back to the spiders. I don't think that means he turned and walked away. What he's saying there is that he allowed himself to be beaten upon the back which is something that Jesus Christ suffered. He says, I gave my back to the spiders and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. So Jesus had a beard and we know that they were beating him and mocking him. One of the things they did is they pulled the beard out of his face. He says, I hid not my face from shame and spitting. So he was beaten and mocked, he suffered not only psychological pain but also physical pain at the hands of several different people. One of them of course was the Jews. When they came and they arrested him the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Scribes and elders took him back and tried him and when they were there they also took the time to go ahead and mock and beat our Lord. It says there in Luke chapter 22 verse 62, And Peter went out and wept bitterly, and the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemy spake they against him. I mean that sends chills up and down my spine to think that they had the Son of God in their hands, the Messiah, the Christ. And they went so far not just to, you know sometimes when we're upset with somebody we might say something or do something and people in the worst of conditions can even physically attack another person but actually take the time to put a blindfold on somebody and then to mock them in this manner. And these people had a very low opinion of Jesus Christ. They didn't regard him one bit. So they suffered of course at the Jews and they beat him and mocked him. They also suffered at the hands of the Romans. Let's go over to Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15. This is of course when Pilate delivers him and crucified, whipped and crucified. It says in Mark chapter 15 verse 16, And the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium and they called together the whole band. Now when men get together and they have their minds bent on doing evil, they can come up with some pretty wicked things. They can come up with some pretty inventive and cruel ways to inflict pain and suffering on another person. So they get the whole band together, it says there in verse 17, And they clothed him with purple and plaited a crown of thorns and put it about his head. Now a lot of people will tell you that this is an actual, you can actually see this plant, I forget the name it was but the thorns on it are actually quite long. So you know an inch and a half, two inches perhaps maybe longer. This is a type of thorn that would have grown over there in Israel. They plaited this crown of thorns, I mean regardless of how long that thorn was it was still a thorn. You know we here in Arizona know about these things, you find those tiny little ones that will get in your shoe and you have to sit there and really pick them out and you know heaven forbid you should never get one in your bare foot. So they put this upon his head and they began to salute him, Hail King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a wreath. Now remember he still has this crown of thorns on his head when they're smoting him. They're driving these thorns into his head with this reed and they did spit upon him. I mean what an insulting thing to do to somebody. That alone right there, I mean if someone were to do that I'd have a hard time keeping my cool. I'd have a hard time not retaliating. I'd probably just have to walk away. But that was really the yeast of what Jesus Christ suffered to have these men spit upon him. And bowing their knees worshiped him and when they had mocked him they took off the purple from him and put his clothes on him and led him out to crucify him. I mean it's bad enough he's going to go suffer crucifixion, we're going to talk about that, but even leading up to that, the psychological pain, the mocking and the beating that Jesus Christ endured. Now if you would go ahead and turn over to, go back to Psalm 22. The Bible says in Mark 15 and verse 15 it says, And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus when he had scourged him to be crucified. It says he was whipped that he was scourged. Now you know you can't really find a biblical example of this, of exactly what that all entailed, but if we look into history and what the Roman practices, the implements that they used back then to carry this out, the type of whips. Lots of people say different things, I mean at some point you just say hey it was a whipping, does it matter if they used a cat of nine tails with bits of metal and glass in it, does it matter if they used just a regular whip or a scourge, does it matter, at some point you just say either way it was extremely painful. I've even heard people say that cat of nine tails rather than thorns or sharp edges in there they would actually put lead balls so that it would slowly bruise you and then break open those bruises. And it was a very bloody and painful and gruesome death that Jesus Christ suffered. Look there in Psalm 22 verse 17 it says, I may tell all my bones they look and stare upon me. I may tell all my bones. That's a very interesting statement. Because when he's using the word tell there, it's as in counting. He could sit there and count his bones. You think of like a bank teller, well what does a bank teller do? They count your money, right? They sit there and they count. That's how they're using the word tell here. I believe what he's referring to here is the fact that Jesus Christ could probably look down on the cross and see his rips. He had endured such a beating. This whipping, I mean they're getting ready to crucify him so they're not exactly trying to go easy on him. They want him to suffer as much as he physically can before he dies. So they would take those whips and they would whip him and slowly, think about how slowly, you would think this doesn't just immediately reveal bones in your body. This takes a lot of whipping. It would be a bruise at first and then those bruises would break open and the blood would begin to come out. Of course, we've all probably at least cut the skin and had that kind of blood come out. It kind of oozes out, comes out slowly. But when you start to get into the actual tissue beneath it, into the muscle where there's actually veins and arteries and those type of things, where there's blood pumping through it, I mean that's going to start to turn into a blood that begins to spray or pour out. I'm saying when they got done whipping Jesus Christ, he slumped over a bloody mess. He was probably covered in it and lost a great deal of blood. Not only that, after they of course whipped him to this point, they put the clothes back on him and if you remember later, they took those back off. And during that time, no doubt, that blood had begun. The Romans thought of this stuff. They didn't just do this by accident, folks. They knew what they were doing. They knew how much they could, they were good at this. This was a common practice back then. They knew how much they could get away with beating him. And they knew that if they put his clothes back on him, they would allow that blood to clot underneath of his clothes and then later they could take it off and reopen all those wounds. If you've ever had any kind of a surgical or procedure done where you've had a wound, you know that when they take that bandage, they change the bandage, they're very careful to take that off. They don't just walk up and rip it off. They're very careful not to reopen that wound. Well, the Romans weren't that careful. I'm sure they were more than happy to rip it right off of his bloody back. So there was a very lethal intent behind the whipping that they used. Not only that, Jesus suffered all of this physical abuse under no sleep. Remember, he had been in the garden praying, then they came and rested him early in the morning and they kept him up all night. I'm sure they didn't say, hey, you need to get a nap in. He had been up. I mean, just that alone. And we think about when we have to go without sleep how cranky and difficult it becomes to even just go about our daily tasks. Jesus went and suffered unbelievable torments with very little sleep. He hadn't had no food. He hadn't had no drink. At this point he was very thirsty, I'm sure. And that's really mild compared to what he whipped through physically. The whipping that he endured. The beating. In fact, if you would turn to Isaiah chapter 52. He was such a bloody mess and he was so violently beaten that the Bible says he was unrecognizable. Those that knew him probably wouldn't have been able to recognize his face. If you've ever watched any kind of an MMA fight or a boxing match, and sometimes if it's been a real slobber knocker and the two guys have gone at each other and just swinging from the fences and got into a slugfest, you know it doesn't take very long for those swells, those hematobas and the black eyes and the eyes to swell shut and the noses to get flattened out and the lips to get fat and they get bruised. I mean, they're unrecognizable, those guys alone. You look at them and you say, well I recognize the face and you kind of see who that is but they don't look anything like what they normally do. And the Bible says that Jesus was unrecognizable before being crucified. Look at Isaiah 52 verse 14, as many were astonished at thee, his visage was so marred more than any man and his form more than the sons of men. He was unrecognizable, his visage was so marred more than any man. You take the worst fight, the worst beating you've ever seen a person go through and Jesus did more. Jesus suffered more at the hands of these people. He was beaten by the Jews, he was beaten by the Romans, and then he was crucified. And of course that is, you know, the pinnacle of the suffering that he endured physically on this earth is the fact that he went through the process of Roman crucifixion, crucified to be fixed to a cross. And this was another common practice back then, it was something that was very commonplace, something that had been going on for many centuries, something that had been developed and crafted and something that the Romans were very good at, something that was a regular practice for them. And really what crucifixion is, is a very cruel and shameful death. If you're one, you know, cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. You know, it was to be publicly humiliated, often you were hung up there naked, you were hung up there and of course being found guilty for something. You died publicly in the broad daylight in front of everybody as a criminal. So he was crucified, go ahead and go over to Luke chapter 23, Luke chapter 23. The Bible says in Luke chapter 23 verse 35, and the people stood beholding, Luke 23 verse 35, and the rulers also with him derided him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself. If he be Christ the chosen of God, and all soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar and saying, If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself. Now wouldn't that have been quite the shock if he did, if he did decide to come down from that cross? That's what they would have had to say then. But there they are mocking him in the midst of the most agonizing death, like I challenge anybody to come up with a more agonizing way to die in crucifixion. It's a slow, agonizing death. We recall Jesus was made to bury or bear that cross. Now from what I read, often that cross was assembled at the hill. That lower portion was about a hundred pounds, that's the portion he would have to carry. Often we see him depicted as carrying the whole thing, but actually would have a notch in it from what I read, and that they would assemble it once they got there, and then put him on it. So he probably carried that lower portion, I'm not trying to say it was any easier, it was over a hundred pounds after having been beaten, after being up all night, with nothing to eat, nothing to drink, this is what Jesus Christ suffered, carrying that hundred pound plus cross up the hill. Of course we know he collapses under the weight, and they have to find another one, Simon is sorry, we need to pick up the cross and bear it for him. Then they get there, and of course they put that cross together, they lay it down, they put Jesus Christ on it, and they begin to drive large, square, iron nails through his flesh. And this is probably the most gruesome part about it. Just imagine having, I've shot myself with a roof nailer in my leg, and I had heavy pants on and it just barely nicked the skin out, and I'm not going to say I cried like a baby, but it hurt. I saw my dad messing around with a nail gun once, it was jammed, a 16 penny nail went through the meat of his finger, out, and then into the meat of his hand, and he said, son check it out, and he slid it back and forth on it, and I went ahhh, and then he yanked it out and I said, do it again, and if any of us have ever stepped on a tack, if any of us have ever pierced our flesh at all, we know how painful that is, but imagine having this large, iron stake, basically, driven through your flesh. This is what Jesus, I'm sorry if this is bothering you this morning, but I just wanted to remind us as we're coming up on Easter Sunday, and we're going to rejoice and celebrate the fact that Christ rose victorious over the grave, but let's not forget what he suffered for us before that happened. He had nails driven through his tissue, now a lot of people think he was driven through his nails when he said to Thomas, behold the nails, my hand's on my side, a lot of people think it was through the palms, the palms of your hands would not support the weight of your body when you're hanging from a cross. What they tell us from history is that the Romans were very careful to make sure that they actually nailed it right here between the bones of your forearm, and antiquity tells us that this would have been considered your hand back then, that was the, anatomically that's the reference there, this is your hand, your hand and your wrist all would have been your hand. So they drove it through there, and there's actually, I forget the name of it, but there's a nerve right there, so that when you're hanging from it, it's pressing on that nerve, and it's shut, you know, can you just imagine the electrical shock that's going through Jesus' arms and up into his brain, just the piercing sensation he would have had. If you ever hit that radial nerve on your forearm, or your funny bone on your elbow, you know, just imagine having that go on for hours while you're hanging there. So he had that driven through with the nails of his hands, and of course also his feet that would put it right through the metatarsal bones, and the large hump in his feet, and that's what he would have actually, he would have been more comfortable likely to let your weight rest on that, to try to, or you know, support yourself, to try to get it off of those nerves in your wrist. A lot of people I've heard mistakenly say that it was difficult to breathe in the sense that you could not draw in a breath, well actually it's the opposite, that's true, when you're hanging there, your arms are up above your head, it actually draws your diaphragm up and it actually makes it very hard to exhale, to get carbon monoxide out of your blood, that it was actually more difficult to get breath out than to get it in. He actually would have had to lift himself up on those nails to exhale and draw breath. And we know that he did that because he took the time to go ahead and draw in breath to make those seven statements from the cross. You can imagine he's up there for hours in this condition, the dehydration begins to set in, having had nothing to drink, having blood loss, an immense amount of blood loss, the fluids in the system are depleted, the blood is becoming thick, the heart is laboring to pump it through because of the thickness of the blood, it would have been his heart labor even more. People speculate that there would have been a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. So there's a membrane that surrounds your heart where your heart is encapsulated and that membrane would have began to fill with fluid, with the serum, and would have put pressure upon the actual heart and that would have caused a great deal of pain as well. If you remember in Psalms 22 it says, I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. Imagine having your bones pulled out of joint. He says my heart is like wax. I believe that's kind of a reference to this condition that Jesus likely suffered this deep pain in his chest. It has melted in the midst of my bowels. You say, I don't know if I really appreciate this sermon, I don't know if I really need to hear all this about Jesus Christ, but this is what our Lord suffered. This is the physical anguish that he went through on the cross. And you say, why? Why is it that Jesus Christ had to go through all this? Let me tell you why. It was necessary. It had to happen. It was something that absolutely had to happen in order for you and I to go to heaven. It was something that was necessary. Go ahead and turn over to Matthew, actually turn over to 1 Peter chapter 3. I want to just read. I'm not going to take a whole lot longer. I think I've got the point across that Jesus Christ suffered a great deal for us. We also need to remember the reason why Jesus allowed himself to go through all this is the fact that it was necessary. The Bible says in Hebrews 9, almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. If we wanted our sins remitted, if we wanted our sins washed away, once and for all it was necessary that Christ suffered and bled and died for us. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. The Bible says in Isaiah 53, surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions. Why is it that Jesus Christ suffered? Why was He wounded in such a way for me and you, for our transgressions? He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Jesus said in John 12, verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bring forth much fruit. You see, I don't understand why Jesus Christ had to die in order to bring many sons under glory so that He would not abide alone, but that we could be born again through faith and His blood. Amen. The Bible says in Acts 17, and Paul, as his manner was, went unto them in three Sabbath days, reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5, purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be on a new lump as ye are leavened, for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. We had to have that Passover land, that lamb slain from the foundation of the world, slain for us, sacrificed for us. You're there in 1 Peter 3, look at verse 18, for Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just for the unjust. Why did He do all that for the unjust? Why did a holy and perfect and righteous God, who in His mouth was found no guy, who did no sin, allow Himself to go through all this for the unjust, for me and you? The just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. That's why He went through it, to bring us to God. It was necessary for Him to do that. But being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 9 says, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, why? For the suffering of death. He was made that way. He was made a little lower than the angels for the express purpose of suffering death for us. So we see first this morning that the death of Jesus Christ was very painful, both psychologically and physically. And we see also that it was necessary. Last thing I want us to understand this morning is that it was done voluntarily. I don't know that I would be willing to suffer any of that for anybody. That's a tall word. I can think of maybe a few people over there in that corner that are pretty dear to me that I might go through, but I'm not going to stand up here and be so self-righteous as to say I would do it for anybody else. Maybe I would. We ought to lay our lives down for the brethren, the Bible says. But it's one thing to say that, it's another thing to actually go through it, to actually be put in that position and in all likelihood none of us will ever have to make that decision. But Jesus did. Jesus could have chose. Jesus could have decided whether or not he was going to do that. Go on over to Matthew chapter 26. It was done voluntarily. Jesus Christ suffered all of this willingly. And sometimes we get the idea that Jesus didn't have any choice in that. He had to do it. And of course, it wasn't in him to disobey the Father, he would have done it, but we have to understand that humanly speaking there was a decision that he had to make to go through this. We looked at the prayer in the garden where he actually prayed and asked that cup to be passed from him if it was possible, but it wasn't possible, so he went ahead and did it. You're going to Matthew 26, the Bible says in Luke 22, and he was withdrawn from the blood of stones cast and kneeled down and prayed saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, my will but thine be done. He said, if it's possible, please, I don't want to suffer this. Matthew 26. I remember very early on after I'd gotten saved, I remember reading this passage, within a few weeks of, and it's such a powerful thing to think about the fact that Jesus Christ chose to suffer death. We'll begin reading in verse 45, then he cometh to his disciples and saith unto them, Sleep on and take your rest, behold the hour is at hand, the Son of Man is betrayed and the hand of sinners. Rise, let us be going, behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And yet spake, O Judas, one of the twelve came, and with them a great multitude was swords and staves from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whosoever I shall kiss, the same as he, and hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took him. And behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck a servant of the high priests and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up thy sword into thy place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Verse 53, this is really something, he said, Thinkest thou that I cannot pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Jesus at any time during his suffering, during his crucifixion, could have stopped it all. He could have stopped it and called for twelve legions of angels. He could have overthrown these guys. Remember when they came to him, they asked, they said that they seek for Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. And he said, I am he. What happened? They all fell backwards. At his word alone. Just two, just a few simple words, and he had them flat on their backs. Jesus could have stopped this at any moment. Verse 54, But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? Jesus willingly went through this to fulfill scriptures, to fulfill our salvation. Bible says in John 15 verse 13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus willingly laid down his life for us and suffered all of these things. Why? Because he loved us. If you would, turn over to John chapter 10, John chapter 10. First John 3 16, the Bible says, Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. He laid it down, the Bible says. It was not taken from him. I remember growing up and hearing about the death of Christ, the crucifixion, and not understanding why anybody would do that to him if he was God. And when I got saved, it was the moment I realized that Jesus Christ willingly went. Yes, he was murdered, yes, they killed him, but he allowed it to happen. He willingly went and laid down his life for me and for you. The Bible says in John chapter 10, look at verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, but he that is in high earling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. The wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The high earling fleeth, because he is in high earling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me, even so know I the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And the other sheep have I, which are not of this fold. Them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore, my father doth love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. Jesus Christ suffered all these things willingly. Jesus Christ went and suffered this physical and psychological torment that he went through on purpose. He allowed it to happen. He laid down his life. Very quickly, the last thing I want us to understand this morning is the fact that yes, Jesus Christ suffered that physical death, that it was necessary for our salvation, and that it was something that he did willingly and voluntarily. But I also want to understand this in closing, that it was forgiven. That the death of Christ, those that killed him, could have been forgiven. That Jesus forgave those that did this to him. I mean, we think about it, and we might say, well, we want exact revenge. I mean, think about Peter in the garden drawing that sword and smiting off the ear of that high priest's servant. You know, in the flesh, not understanding what it was that Christ, that this had to take place, the scriptures must be fulfilled. And you know, oftentimes we might have that same reaction when we see somebody else going through a physical torment or being done unjustly. We want to lash out for them and take vengeance. And Jesus could have done that. Like I said, he could have stopped it. I mean, he could have killed all of them like that. He allowed himself to go through it, and not only that, he actually forgave those that did it to him. The Bible says in Luke 23, then said Jesus, this is Tim hanging on the cross in the midst of his agony, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. That's a powerful example of forgiveness. Jesus said in Matthew 5, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. He set an example for us, that we should be willing to forgive others. I mean, if Jesus Christ can forgive people for what they did to him, can't we forgive other people for what they do to us? I mean, what they do to us pales in comparison. And yet sometimes we get so bent out of shape, we get such a bad attitude towards other people, and Jesus says forgive. So he set us a very great example. Will I have an easier time of doing that and forgiving other people? Can we understand that we also were those that needed forgiving, that every bit isn't responsible for Jesus Christ going to the cross as anybody else, because it was for our iniquities that he died. Bible says in Colossians 1-20, And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now have you reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprobable in his sight. And that's why Christ did all that, to present us unblameable before God. And are we not guilty? Do we not have many things that we could be blamed for? But praise God through the death and the suffering of Christ and his willingness to endure that. We are presented before God unblameable, unreprobable in his sight. And you know, Jesus did that for us, but here's the thing, he did that for everybody. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. He wants everyone to be saved. And you know, the Bible says that we are ambassadors for Christ, as though Christ did beseech you by us. I mean, if Christ goes out and suffers all these things, and all he asks us to do is to go out and to beseech others on his behalf. Even if we don't feel that burden, we should understand that he does. That he's up there and he is beseeching the world unto himself. After going through so much, it only stands to reason that he would want everyone to be saved. Are we doing anything with that knowledge? If we say, you know, I understand this morning, this is a hard sermon, it's a hard truth to sometimes to swallow and to come to grips with, the suffering of Christ, but it should motivate us and move us to make a small sacrifice and just say, you know what, I'm gonna go tell others about it. You know, there's so many times throughout the week, you know, there's one on Saturday, there's one on Sunday, there's one on Thursday. Can you go out and at least just go through the discomfort of knocking a door and maybe a little bit of awkwardness in trying to tell somebody about what Jesus endured, not only for you, but also for them. Let's go ahead and pray. Heavenly Father, again, thank you for, thank you for the precious gift of your son and all things that he adored for us, help us to never forget what it is that he truly suffered for us. And Lord, we love you and thank you that you laid down your life for us, help us do the same for you, that we would be used of you to tell others about salvation that is in Christ. We ask these things in his name, amen. All right, so let's go ahead and sing another song, let's sing song number seven. Song number seven, I gave my life for thee. Song number seven. I gave my life for thee, what hast thou given for me? My Father's house of light, my glory's purple glow. I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee. I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee. I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee.