(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] We want to welcome you to the service at Verdi Baptist Church. We're so glad you're with us this morning. We have a wonderful service lined up for you today, and of course we'd like to begin the service with a word of prayer. So let's go ahead and bow our heads and pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you and we thank you for allowing us to meet together on a Sunday morning. Lord, we pray that you'd bless the time that we have set aside for singing, for preaching, for fellowship. We pray that you'd meet with us this morning, Lord, that we might draw closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Turn to song 236. ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] Two, three, six. ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] Two hundred and thirty-six on the first. ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] ["O Not One"] We have not sang this song here in a while, so it might be new to some of you. If it's new to you, let's go ahead and learn it together. If you know it, please help us sing it, and we'll sing it out on the first. For what earthly reason, on the first? For what earthly reason Would the heavenly Father Send down His Son To suffer rejection And pay for crimes He had not done? For what earthly reason Would the Father let Him hang on a tree? I left with the answer That one earthly reason was me I was the reason That one earthly reason I was the guilty He was the sacrificed I was the baker He was the giver But if one eye go free That one earthly reason was me Good, all right. Who has never sang that song before? You don't remember that? Most of you? It's been a while. Who does know that song? Who just doesn't know how to sing at all? All right. Well, let's go ahead. We're learning it together. Sing it out on the second. Let's learn it, and if you know it, help us. If you're learning it, sing it out. If you don't know how to sing, I don't know what to tell you. Sing it out on the second. The fairest of angels Were not summoned from the throne Up in the sky To purchase my pardon Not even the angels could lie The only provision For my freedom was destined to be A sweet lamb of glory And his only reason Good. Sing it out on the chorus. I was the reason That one earthly reason I was the guilty He was the sacrifice I was the taker He was the giver The equal I go free The one earthly reason was me Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together this morning. Lord, we pray that you bless the offering, the gift, and the giver. We thank you for the great vision offering we had last week. Lord, we pray that you would bless this week as well. We pray that you would bless the preaching of your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. If you do not have a Bible raise your hand. International will bring you one. Luke chapter 23. We will read the entire chapter as is our custom. Luke chapter 23. Just keep your hands up and I shall bring you a Bible. Luke chapter 23 the Bible reads, And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is a Christ, a king. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him, and he had hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words, but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. Herod, with his men of war, said him it not, and mocked him and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day, and Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before there was an enmity between themselves. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverted the people. And, behold, I, having examined him before you, have no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him. No, nor yet Herod, for I sent you to him. And, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him, for of a necessity he must release one unto them at the feast. And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas, who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder was cast into prison. Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again unto them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them that first sedition, and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired. But he delivered Jesus to their will. And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country. And on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus, turning unto them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bear, and the paths which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? And there were also two other malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots, and the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with him derided him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself, if he be of Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew, This is the king of the Jews. And one of the malefactors which was hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answered and rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the mist. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I command my spirit. And having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned. And all those acquaintances, and all the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things. And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor, and he was a good man and a just. The same had not consented to the counsel indeed of them. He was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on, and the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the Sabbath according to the commandment. Let us pray. Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless Pastor and the message. Let it bring glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. Amen. Alright, we're there in Luke chapter number 23. And of course, we have been on a journey with the Lord Jesus Christ. We've been in a sermon series called Journey with Jesus. And it's been a verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Luke. And we are making our way towards the end of the Gospel of Luke. And of course, we planned it out so that we would be here in Luke 23, dealing this morning with the crucifixion of Christ on the Sunday before Easter, so that on the Sunday of Easter, we will deal with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 23 and verse 26 is where we begin. If you remember, last time we were together, we left off in verse number 25. And what we're going to do this morning is we're going to look at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is probably the greatest story. I mean, not probably. I shouldn't say probably. This is, without a doubt, the greatest story in the Bible. And in connection with this crucifixion and, of course, the resurrection, which we will look at next week. As we look at the story, I'd like to give it to you under two different sections or two different headings. And if you're taking notes, I always encourage you to take notes. On the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some things. We will look at this story of the crucifixion under these two headings. We will deal with before the crucifixion or leading up to the crucifixion, and we'll deal with during the crucifixion. We'll talk about the events that took place that Luke documented for us. Before the crucifixion, we'll look at the events that took place during the crucifixion. On Wednesday night, as we partake of the Lord's Supper, we will look at what happened after the crucifixion. And then, of course, on Sunday, we will see the resurrection. If you notice here, before the resurrection, you'll notice that there are two things that are highlighted by the gospel writer, Luke, as to things that he documents leading to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the first one is found there in verse number 26. The Bible says, and as they led him, this is, of course, Jesus, and as they led him away, they laid hold on one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country. And on him, referring to Simon, a Cyrenian, the Bible says, they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. So the first thing that we see as Jesus is making his way, and, of course, if you've been with us through the Gospel of Luke, we've already been with Jesus as we went through the three different judgments that led to this point of the crucifixion. We saw him before the counsel of the Jews. We saw him before Pilate. We saw him before Herod. Now he has been condemned to death. And on his way to the cross, the Bible tells us about this man named Simon, and there's a symbolism here with this man Simon. We're told that as they led him, Jesus, they laid hold on one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him, they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. Now this might seem a little bit odd to you, and let me just kind of explain this a little bit. You're there in Luke 23. Please keep your place there. That's our text for this morning, but go with me if you went to the Gospel of Mark, Mark chapter 15. Go back one book. Right before the book of Luke, you have the book of Mark, Mark chapter 15. And what is happening here is that the entire purpose of the crucifixion and the crucifixion and death by crucifixion was not invented by the Romans, but you could say it was perfected by the Romans. The purpose of the crucifixion was in order to have somebody die as slowly as possible and as painfully as possible, and for the Romans, it was meant to be as public as possible. If they simply wanted to put somebody to death, all they could have done is just cut their heads off with a sword. That would have been the merciful, graceful thing to do. But what the Roman Empire meant to do with crucifixions was to scare people. They wanted these crucifixions to be as gruesome as possible, to be as horrible as possible, to last as long as possible, and to be as public as possible, because every time that there was a crucifixion, it was a warning to everyone who saw it to not mess with the Roman Empire. And of course, if you're familiar with the history of Rome, you know that Jesus was not the only person that was crucified. This was a way of the Roman Empire dealing with insurrections and enemies, dealing with people that they wanted to make an example of. This was done on a regular basis. Even here in our story, we'll see that when Jesus was crucified, there was also two others that were crucified with him just on the same day. This was something that happened on a regular basis. And as people watched these gruesome scenes of the crucifixion, they would often be afraid and realize that we better not mess with Rome. We better not have an insurrection against Rome. We better not do anything that would upset the Romans, because this is how they deal with their enemies. Now, I explain that to say this. What we see here is that this man Simon, who's just a random guy. The Bible tells us he is Simon a Cyrenian, and that would be modern-day Libya. He is probably a Jew by the name of Simon who lives in a foreign country, and he has come to Jerusalem for the Passover. This is something that we, of course, see throughout the Bible where the Jewish people would travel and do these trips into Jerusalem for the Passover. Oftentimes, this was not something that they could do on a regular basis if they lived in Judea or Galilee. If you remember the first few chapters of Luke, we saw that Jesus as a 12-year-old got lost as Joseph and Mary brought him from Galilee down to Jerusalem for the Passover. If you lived nearby, you would make the trip. But if you were coming from Libya or from Cyrene, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing that you saved up money for, you gathered all the resources, you made the plans, and you headed to Jerusalem for the Passover. This man, Simon a Cyrenian, happens to be in Jerusalem for the Passover and gets caught up with the crowd as Jesus is being led to be crucified, and then he is chosen by the Romans to help Jesus carry the cross. Now, why was this? Was this an act of mercy? And I would say the answer to that question is probably not. The reason that they have chosen somebody to help Jesus carry the cross is because of the fact that Jesus, as we've already seen, has been kept up all night by the illegal questioning of the Jews. We already saw that the Jewish soldiers or the guards of the temple have already beaten him. Of course, he's been up all day as he met with the council of the Jews, met with Pilate, met with Herod. We know from Scripture that both Pilate and Herod have already had him beaten by soldiers. He's already been flogged and whipped by soldiers. By the time that Jesus is carrying the cross, he's already been beaten brutally, pretty badly, and is probably close to death already. And the fact that they would choose a man to help Jesus carry the cross was not necessarily an act of kindness as much as it was an act of trying to keep him alive long enough to be put on the cross. They want to make an example of Jesus. They want this to be a public thing. They don't want him to die under the burden of the cross before he gets there, so they choose this man Simon. One last thing that I want you to understand just for the context is that this was something that was often done by the Roman Empire, where a soldier of the Roman Empire had the authority at any given time to just pick a private citizen to help them, and they could, the word is used in the Bible, compel them to help them carry a burden. Usually this was done if a soldier was traveling for a long distance and they needed to get to a certain place and they were carrying a pack with them or carrying weapons with them. They could compel people from the city, and by law, they had to help them carry that pack or that burden for at least a mile. If you remember, Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount actually taught that we as Christians should not do only what is required of us, but that we should go above and beyond. And Jesus taught on this when he said that if you are compelled to go with someone a mile, he said don't just go the mile, but go with them twain. And this is what we are seeing here. Simon, as a citizen of the Roman Empire, is not volunteering. He's really just been chosen from the crowd and he has been compelled, meaning he's been forced, to help carry this burden. They picked him from the crowd and said you carry the cross and help Jesus get to Mount Calvary. That's what we see here. This man was probably chosen because he was a foreigner being from Libya, and he probably looked a little different than the rest of the crowd. He was probably chosen because he kind of stood out as a foreigner who was in Jerusalem caught up in this crowd as Jesus is being taken to the cross and he is told by the Roman soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross. Notice there in Mark 15 and verse 21, notice what the Bible says. And they compel. You see the word compel there? Same word that Jesus used when he talked about go with them twain. If they compel you to go with them a mile, go with them twain. And they compel, the word compel means they forced, they required it of him, one Simon, a Cyrenian. Notice what the Bible says, who passed by. He just happened to pass by. He just happened to be there. He just happened to be in Jerusalem at that time. He happened to be on that road at that time. He just happened to pass by and Simon might say it this way, a very strange thing happened to me when I went to Jerusalem, when I went on this holiday, when I went on this trip, when I went on this pilgrimage, while I was there, as I happened to pass by, the Roman soldiers picked me out of the crowd and they compelled me to carry the cross of this man named Jesus. Look at verse 21 again. And they compel one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. Now, I want to just make a couple of statements about this. First of all, let me say this. We don't know anything really about this man Simon other than what the Bible tells us here about the fact that he was chosen to carry the cross of Christ. But I think the Bible might hint to, and this is complete opinion, this is my opinion, and I always like to be careful when I give you an opinion to let you know it is my opinion and I will, if it's the word of God, then I'll tell you it's the word of God and it's authoritative. Just a thought that I have, then I'd like for you to know that, but I think the Bible seems to indicate that this might have impacted the life of this man Simon a Cyrenian to the point that he got saved as a result. I think that this man who was chosen to physically help Jesus carry the cross, this happenstance where he happened to be there, happened to be chosen, to lead the cross for this man that he probably did not know Jesus, maybe caused him to become curious about who this man is. Why is he dying? What has he done? And the Bible seems to, in my opinion, indicate that this man might have got saved. You say, what makes you think that? Well, it's there in verse 21. The writer who is Mark, we know that the writer of the Bible is the Holy Ghost, but he used men to pen these words down. In the Gospel of Mark, we know that Mark is being used by the Holy Ghost to write down these words. And here's what Mark says, he says, and they compel one Simon a Cyrenian who passed by coming out of the country. Now that gives us the story of who it is. But then Mark feels the need to write the statement when he says, the father of Alexander and Rufus. And the truth is that that statement, the father of Alexander and Rufus, would mean absolutely nothing to you and I. We would think, okay, apparently he had two sons named Alexander and Rufus. But I think that the reason that Mark wrote the words, by the way, this Simon, this Cyrenian who happened to pass by coming out of the country, who was chosen to bear the cross of Jesus, he's the father of Alexander and Rufus. I think that Mark makes this note because to the first century writers, to the fellow Christians for whom he was documenting this letter, they would have known who Alexander and Rufus were. And the Bible seems to indicate that maybe Simon got saved as a result of this and his family got saved and Alexander and Rufus ended up maybe being members or even maybe leaders in that early church. So Mark is documenting for us that when Simon was chosen, he wants us to identify, he wants the first century writers to identify, by the way, this is the father of Alexander and Rufus. He was chosen to bear his cross. In Romans chapter number 16, you don't have to turn there, you can just write this in your own notes if you'd like. The apostle Paul, as he gives a whole list of people from the first century and giving thanks to individuals and fellow believers and fellow workers, he names a man by the name of Rufus. Do we know that that is the same Rufus mentioned here? We don't know that for sure. But I tend to think that nothing in the Bible is just in there for fluff and if these things are being mentioned, they're being mentioned for a reason. And I would like to think that this event that happened in the life of Simon, who may seem like a bad event, I mean, we might think this would have ruined his vacation. He was picked out and chosen. Why? Because he's a foreigner? Why? Because they can make him do it? I mean, he was there on vacation, he was there on a holiday, right? He was there on a pilgrimage, he was there on a Passover, and he was chosen out of the crowd and said, you, carry the cross. And now he had to carry this cross behind this bloody man who he does not know. But the Bible seems to indicate that maybe this was not an accident, but it was a divine appointment that changed not only the life of Simon, but of his two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and probably his wife, and led to his salvation. Now that's my opinion, but let me give you what the Bible actually teaches and why I believe that this is in Scripture. There is a symbolism here. We see the symbolism of Simon. The Bible says in Mark chapter 8, you're there in Mark 15, if you go back to Mark chapter 8, this is obviously Jesus before the crucifixion. In Mark chapter 8 and verse 34, here's what Jesus taught. He said, and when he had called the people unto him, with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me. This is a reference to a disciple, someone that is following Jesus. Whosoever will come after me, here's what Jesus said, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Jesus taught that if you and I are to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are to take up our cross, as the illustration, and follow Jesus. That we are to take our cross, and you say, what does that mean exactly? Oftentimes when people use this terminology and say, oh, well that's just my cross to bear, they usually think about some bad thing they have to deal with, and I understand that, but if you look at it scripturally, the cross was a place of death. It was a place of self-denial, Jesus himself, we already saw him in the Garden of Gethsemane saying, I don't want to take of this cup, however he submitted himself to the will of the Father, even unto death, the Bible tells us, and he said, not my will, but thine be done. And in the same way that Jesus, in obedience, took up his cross, the Bible says that you and I, who are to be followers of Jesus Christ, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we are to come unto him, the Bible says, Jesus said, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. And what I would submit to you this morning, if you go back to Luke 23 and verse 26, is that in the story of this man, Simon, though it might have been a divine appointment, that allowed this man to come to the place where he would hear the gospel and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and it would change the entire life and lineage of his family, there's also a symbol here that in the same way that Simon physically, literally, took up the cross and followed Jesus, you and I ought to do the same. Luke 23 and verse 26, look at it again, and as they led him away, they laid hold on one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. Aren't those beautiful words? Would to God it would be said of you and I that on us has been laid our cross, that we might bear it after Jesus. When I think of this, I'm reminded of the words of the song, must Jesus bear his cross alone and all the world go free? No, there's a cross for everyone and there's a cross for me. He bore the cross for everyone down to Calvary. Now there's a cross for everyone and there's a cross for me. We see the symbolism of Simon and what is it? It is the fact that every one of us should take up our cross. Every one of us should deny ourselves, submit to the will of the Father. We don't all have the same cross but we have a cross that we should bear and we should take up our cross and follow him. So we see this beautiful symbolism and you'll notice in the story of the crucifixion that there's all these physical stories that serve as symbols. We saw one last week of Barabbas who was guilty and was set free while Jesus the innocent was made to pay his price. That literally physically happened but that is also symbolic of salvation and here with Simon, yes, this literally physically happened. Simon was chosen to help Jesus bear the cross but there's also symbolism here that everyone that follows Christ must carry his cross as well. So we see number one, the symbolism of Simon and then I'd like you to notice secondly, not only is there the symbolism of Simon but there's also a warning given to the women. Notice there in verse 27, Luke 23, we are seeing Jesus on his way to the cross. In verse 27 the Bible says, And there followed him a great company of people and of women. On Wednesday night and on Sunday morning I'll highlight the fact and I'll highlight it because of the fact that the Holy Spirit highlights it in the Gospels. Women played a prominent role as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ which was completely unheard of in the first century. It was the women who stood beside him. It was the women who did not desert him. It was the women who were given the wonderful privilege of being told of the resurrection of Christ. And here we're told in Luke 23 verse 27, And there followed him a great company of people and of women. Now these specific women, we don't know that they are followers of Jesus and they might have been, but it's probable that they are not. They're just women that are there and are watching this. And of course any woman who would have seen this, even a man who was guilty, would have been moved to tears. But here we're told that there were these women which also bewailed and lamented him. There are these women that are wailing and they are weeping. They are crying and lamenting what is happening to Jesus on the way to the cross. But Jesus turned unto them and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, notice what he says to them. He says, Weep not for me. That's interesting. He said, Don't cry for me. Weep not for me. Notice what he says. But weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren and the women that never bear and the paps that never gave suck. This is a very interesting thing that Jesus is saying to these women, these daughters of Jerusalem because of the fact that in the ancient world, and this is how it should be, the highest calling of a woman would be to bear and raise children. The Bible teaches that. And throughout the Bible, we see that when women were barren, this was often a heartache to them. This was a burden to them. But Jesus is now telling these ladies, Hey, don't weep for me, but weep for yourselves because of the fact that the days are coming that they're going to say, Blessed are the barren. If you didn't have children, you were blessed. Blessed are the womb that never bear and the paps which never gave suck. Now why is it that Jesus is saying this to these ladies? Go to Luke chapter 19. You're there in Luke 23, Luke chapter 19. In Luke 19, we are told exactly why it is that Jesus is saying this. And if you remember, Luke chapter 19 is the chapter in which Jesus enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. For you and I, as we've been studying the Gospel of Luke, because of the fact that we've been taking our time with it, and because of the fact that we took a break from it, Luke chapter 19 and Luke 23 was several weeks, in fact months ago, that we studied these chapters together. However, in chronology, I want you to understand that Luke 19 happened on a Sunday, and Luke 23 is just a few days later. So only days have gone by within the chronology of the life of Christ from when these events took place. In Luke chapter 19 and verse 41, the Bible says, and when he was come near, this is Jesus coming into Jerusalem. He's already entered Jerusalem. Now he's on the city. The Bible says, he beheld the city and wept over it. Only, I believe, three different times we see Jesus weeping in the Bible, and this is one of them. Verse 42 saying, if thou hadst known, this is Jesus looking over the city of Jerusalem, weeping over the city, and this is what he says, speaking to the city. He says, if thou hadst known, even now, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace. He said, if you would have known who I am and the opportunity that I am giving you, and if you would know what you're about to do, this is Jesus speaking to Jerusalem right before the city of Jerusalem comes together to crucify him. He says, if thou hadst known, even now, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace. He says, but now they are hid from thine eyes. He said, you don't even understand what you're going to do. Jesus is saying, referring to his crucifixion, and then in verse 43 he says this, for the day shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee around and keep thee in on every side and shall lay thee even with the ground and thy children with thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Jesus said, I have came to visit you, the Son of God, God in the flesh, and because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation, because you did not acknowledge me as Messiah. In fact, you rejected me as Christ, and Jesus is saying, because of the fact that in a few days you're going to put me to death. The Bible is teaching that the destruction of Jerusalem would come as a result of their punishment of the Lord Jesus Christ. The coming destruction of Jerusalem was a punishment for the city crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're familiar with the history of the ancient world and if you're familiar with the history of Jerusalem, you know that Jerusalem was actually destroyed in 70 AD. Just several decades after the crucifixion of Christ, what Jesus said is exactly what happened. The Roman Empire came and compass the city about and completely destroyed the city and the walls and the temple. And exactly what Jesus predicted would happen, that thy enemy shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round about and shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, is what happened. And here's what I want you to understand. Jesus predicted not only the destruction of the city, but he predicted that the city would be destroyed because of the fact that they crucified him. This is what Jesus was referring to. Go back to Luke 23. In verse 27 when he says, excuse me, verse 28, But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days are coming into which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the womb that never bare, and the paths that never gave suck. Now here's what I want you to understand. Jesus is here speaking to these women, telling them, don't weep for me, weep for yourself, because destruction is coming to this city. And one day, those of you, he's saying, that do not have children that feel like you've not had the blessing of children. You're going to think you're blessed because of the fact that you didn't have children because your children did not have to live through the destruction of the city that is coming. But then Jesus also prophetically speaks of another day of judgment. In verses 27, 28, and 29, he prophetically speaks and predicts the coming destruction of Jerusalem, which was a punishment for the city of Jerusalem crucifying Christ. But then he also begins to speak about another coming day of judgment for the entire world, which will be a punishment to those who reject Christ. Look at verse 30. Look at it. Now let me just explain this phrase for you here, this idiom that Jesus uses when he says, if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? Oftentimes, judgment throughout the Bible is represented as fire. If you're with us through the book of Amos, as we studied the book of Amos recently, you remember that in every chapter, every time that the judgment was being proclaimed upon cities, he talked about the fact that fire would come upon them. This is why there is literal fire in hell, because fire is a representation of judgment. It represents other things at other times as well. But here, Jesus is saying, if you would judge me, Jesus speaking to the city of Jerusalem, when it's not natural or normal to do so, why is it not normal to do so? Because of the fact that Jesus is innocent. He said in the same way that you would not take a green tree, a branch off a tree that's green, and try to burn it, you would try to burn a dry branch, because it's not normal to try to burn a green tree. He says in the same way that it's not normal for you to be doing this to me, an innocent man, he says, if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? And what Jesus is saying is this, if they do this to me, an innocent man, what shall be done to you, Jerusalem, who are guilty, to you sinners who are guilty? But then he says in verse 30, then shall they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us. I'd like you to notice that phrase, fall on us, and see how that is connected to another judgment. Not 70 AD, although that is definitely something Jesus is talking about, but oftentimes when prophecy is made, it is both given as something that will happen soon, and then something that will happen afar off. Jesus was speaking about 70 AD and the destruction of Jerusalem, but he's also talking about the coming day of the great wrath of God. Go to Romans chapter 6 real quickly. Romans chapter 6, I'd like you to see this in verse 15. Romans chapter number 6 and verse number 15, excuse me, I'm saying Romans, I mean Revelation. You probably knew that, I think. Maybe you didn't. You should be able to read my mind. Revelation chapter number 6. There's not much prophecy in Romans, just so you know. Revelation chapter 6, last book in the New Testament. Revelation chapter 6 and verse 15, the Bible says, And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, notice these words, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Jesus said, Luke 23, 30, that they said, fall on us to the hills, cover us. Look at verse 16, and said to the mountains and rocks, notice what he says, fall on us. So Jesus says in Luke 23, 30, then shall they begin to say to the mountains, the mountains fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? And then in Revelation 6, when we're talking about the great coming wrath of God, the day of the Lord at the end times, he says in Revelation 6, 16, And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face, notice, of Him, of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the, notice it, Lamb. For the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? See, what Jesus was telling these women, he's saying, don't weep for me who am being crucified. He says, weep for yourselves who are crucifying me. And then Jesus says, because, and he alludes to two different judgments, he says, this city, Jerusalem, is going to be destroyed, it's going to be compassed about, and not one stone is going to be left on another because of the fact that you've crucified the Son of God. But he says, you know what, there's coming another judgment, and everyone who rejects Jesus, everyone who rejects the message of the cross, will one day see the judgment of God, and they will say, fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne. Go to Revelation chapter 1 real quickly. Look at verse 7, Revelation chapter 1 and verse 7. Revelation 1 to 7, the Bible says, Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. Notice these words. Thousands of years later, and they also which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, amen. See, the coming of Christ to those of us that are saved is glorious, but to those who reject Christ, it is wrath. They will say, fall on us, and to the hills cover us. They will say, hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Go back to Luke 23. So we see these events take place before the crucifixion. What were they? The symbolism of Simon, and then the warning to the women. We see that Simon serves as a symbol of what every Christian should be, someone who would take up the cross and follow Jesus. And then we see this warning to the women. Jesus warns them of really two coming destructions, one of the coming destruction of Jerusalem as a punishment to the city for crucifying Christ, and then He also alludes to the coming wrath of God upon the entire world for those who reject the crucified Christ. And then in verse 32, we begin to transition from before the cross to the cross or during the cross. Look at verse 32, and there were also two other male factors. That word means criminals, malefactors, led with Him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, we're told in other gospels that the word Calvary means the place of a skull. This is where they would crucify criminals. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him. And the male factors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. It's interesting to me that such an epic event in the Bible is reduced down to just four little words there in the middle of verse 33. There they crucified Him. And of course, you and I like to romanticize, and our culture and history, throughout history, religion has romanticized the cross. But you'll notice that in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the crucifixion of Christ has very little descriptions to it. Now that was for a couple of reasons. We, who have been separated from crucifixions, and none of us have ever actually witnessed the real crucifixion, tend to dramatize it and to romanticize it, and that has been done really since the Renaissance through pictures and now through movies. And they'll have these dramatic pictures of Jesus on the cross, and most of those are not Jesus because Jesus did not have long hair. And there's so many mistakes on those things, we won't get into that. But I want you to notice that the Bible does not necessarily do that. Now, the death of the cross was a terrible death, and there are some descriptions to it that allow us to know that it was a terrible death. But the Bible writers do not go into detail about the crucifixion for a couple of reasons. Number one, first of all, the first century writer to whom they are writing to is very knowledgeable about crucifixions. They're very aware of what a crucifixion looked like, so simply to say, and there they crucified him, was enough for them to know what had happened and how horrible it was. But even more than that, I believe that the Bible does not really highlight the death necessarily and the cruelty, though we are given details in the majority of the Gospel, just a few verses, a few portions of chapters are given to the description of the crucifixion because of the fact that the death of Christ was needed, of course, but that is not the highlight of what is happening here. His physical death was needed, of course it was, and the physical shedding of blood was required, which is why he was crucified. But this is just part of the story. The Bible tells us he was buried, the Bible tells us his soul went down to hell, the Bible says that he was resurrected and all of those things were needed to bring us salvation. So the Bible just simply tells us in four words, there they crucified him. And then we see what happens during the crucifixion according to Luke. Obviously different Gospels have different details and we are currently studying the Gospel of Luke, so we'll highlight what Luke highlights for us. First of all, I'd like you to notice that on the cross we see the forgiveness of Jesus. Luke 23 and verse 34, then said Jesus, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. That's interesting. The fact that Jesus would look down at those men who are currently and actively crucifying him, currently and actively putting him to death, and he asks God the Father to forgive them. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And what we learn from this is that Jesus was not a hypocrite. Jesus practiced what he preached. Go back to Matthew, if you would, Matthew chapter 5. Of course, Matthew chapter 5 is the famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, first book in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Matthew chapter 5, do me a favor when you get to Matthew, put a ribbon or bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. I'd like you to be able to get to it quickly. Matthew chapter 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, here's what Jesus taught. He said, you have heard that it has been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Matthew 5, 44, love your enemies, bless them that cursed you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully used you and persecute you. Jesus taught this, love your enemies, bless them that cursed you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully used you and persecute you. And then on the cross, we see him, keep your place there in Matthew, go back to Luke 23, on the cross we see him say, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. We see that he not only taught this, but he lived this. This idea of loving your enemies and bless them that curse you and do good to them that hate you. And I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but let me just say this. As a pastor over the last 12 years, my wife and I have had the opportunity to help many people through counseling and to help people through very difficult times. And there are some things and traumas and tragedies that people have gone through that are horrible and terrible and very difficult to go through. But what I've also learned is that people oftentimes tend to be very petty. And to me it's just interesting when you consider the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, an innocent man, not just an innocent of a crime, but an innocent man of all sin who had never seen be put to death on a cross. And that Jesus, to look down at the men that are crucifying him and say, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. I can't help but think that it just makes the things that you are unwilling to forgive someone for seem pretty petty. It just seems like the grudges you hold and the bitterness you keep in your heart seems pretty childish in comparison to this. All I would say is this, that if Jesus can say, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do to people who are putting him actively on a cross, I think you could find a way to forgive as well. So we see during the crucifixion the forgiveness of Jesus. And then I want you to notice secondly the mocking of Jesus. This is predicted in Psalms, we won't turn there, but in Psalms we're told that Jesus will be surrounded and mocked at by people and it's fulfilled here in Luke 23 and verse 35. I want you to notice there's three different groups of people that mock Jesus. The first is the rulers, that's to be expected. They're the ones that put Jesus on the cross, Luke 23 verse 35. And the people stood beholding and the rulers also with them derided him. Derided means to insult, to mock, to sneer. Derided him saying, he saved others, let him save himself if he be Christ the chosen of God. Remember that was their big thing when we saw the counsel of the Jews. They kept asking him, art thou the son of God? Art thou the Christ? Are you the Messiah? And here we now see him being mocked by the rulers saying, if you really are the Christ, if you really are the chosen of God, then why don't you save yourself? The Bible says that they derided him saying, he saved others, let him save himself. I want you to notice and you may not have noticed this in the past as you've read through the Gospel of Luke that all of the mockings have a similar theme, have the same theme to them. In verse 35 we see the rulers mocking Jesus because he said that he was the Christ, the chosen of God and they say, if that's true, let him save himself. Then in verse 36 we see the mocking of the soldiers. Notice there Luke 23 verse 36. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar and saying, they mock him for a different reason. The Jews care about his religious power. The Romans care about his political power. And they say, if thou be the king of the Jews. But notice, though they're mocking him for different reasons, they both say the same thing. They say, if thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. The Jews said in verse 35, let him save himself. The Romans said in verse 37, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews. And then in verse 39 we see that the other thieves mock him as well. In verse 35 the rulers mock him. In verse 36, 37, 38 the Romans mock him. The soldiers mock him. And in verse 39 we see that the other criminals, the male factors that are being crucified also mock him. And one of the male factors, now other of the gospels tell us that both began to mock him. And then of course one decides to stop. And one of the male factors which were hanged railed on him saying, if thou be the Christ. Notice what he says, save thyself and us. So the Jews said, let him save himself. The soldiers said, if thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And now this guy on the cross says, if thou be the Christ, save thyself. And then he throws in, and us. And what it shows is a complete misunderstanding as to what it was that Jesus was doing there. Because they kept telling him and in some ways maybe tempting him, don't let them disrespect you this way. Don't let them tell us that you're not actually the Christ, that you're not actually the chosen one, that you're not actually the king of the Jews. In fact, why don't you prove that you are the Christ and you are the chosen one and you are the king of the Jews by getting off the cross and saving thyself. And we see the big misconception that continues even until now. That Jesus was on the cross and they said, well prove who you are to save thyself. But it was that very cross that would actually prove who he was because he was there to save others. They told him, get off the cross, save thyself, and he's there to save them. They're telling him, why don't you save thyself? Let him save thyself and be the cross, the Christ, the chosen one of God. If you're the king of the Jews, save thyself. If you're really the Messiah, save thyself. What they do not understand is that he was there to save them, to provide salvation for all mankind. Verse 40, but the other answer, remember there was two thieves on the cross, one on either side. Other gospels tell us that they both began to mock him at first, but then one decided that this was wrong. Verse 40, but the other answering rebuked him saying, this is one thief rebuking the other thief, Does not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. The thief on the cross realized his own sin and realized that he deserved the death that he was getting, but he says, this man, Jesus, is an innocent man. He does not deserve this. This man had done nothing amiss. Verse 42, and he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto you, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. On the cross the thief, the thief on the cross got saved. What can we learn about salvation from this? Well, the first thing we can learn is this, that salvation happens in a moment. It's not a process. Don't let the charismatic Pentecostals tell you, oh, it's a process. First you got to believe, then you got to repent, then you got to get baptized, then you got to speak in tongues. No, no, no, no. He said, remember me when thou enters into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Salvation, something we can learn from this is that it happens in a moment. And let me say this as well, we learn from this that it requires no works. Notice this man never got off the cross and got baptized. You know what that shows us, is that baptism is not needed for salvation. He never got off the cross and took communion. You know what that shows us is that communion is not needed for salvation. He never got off the cross and went to church. He never got off the cross and cleaned up his life. He never got off the cross and repented of his sins. All he did was put his faith on Jesus Christ alone and asked in faith for salvation. And that moment he was saved. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said, verily, verily, I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. This might be what you and I call a deathbed salvation, a deathbed conversion. And it's in the Bible to show us that it's possible for someone to believe moments before they die, right before they die. But I will say this, don't count on it. The Bible says today is a day of salvation. The Bible says that you don't know what a day will bring forth. If you happen to be laying on a deathbed moments before you die, if you're not saved, I hope you will in faith call upon Christ to save you. But you don't know that you'll have that opportunity, so why don't you just get saved today? We see that this thief on the cross was saved. And the big takeaway is this, that everyone mocks Jesus for not saving himself. And what they do not realize is that he was there to save them. So we see the forgiveness of Jesus. We see the mocking of Jesus. And then thirdly, we see the vindication of Jesus. Notice in Luke 23 and verse 44, the Bible says this, and it was about the sixth hour. The sixth hour would have been about noontime. And there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Three hours later, it would be 3 p.m. The sun going dark for three hours from noon to 3 p.m. would have caught everyone's attention. The Bible says that it was about the sixth hour and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour and the sun was darkened. I want you to notice that there is a vindication of who Jesus is by the natural world. Though the rulers and the soldiers and even the thief on the cross do not want to acknowledge that Jesus is who he is, that he is the Christ, the Messiah, the chosen of God, the King of the Jews, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lord of Glory, though they do not want to acknowledge that the natural world and the sun itself acknowledges that the death of Christ. This was more than just a mere man. Go back to Matthew real quickly, verse 27, if you would. The sun going dark highlights the fact that Jesus truly was who he said he was. Nature itself vindicates and Luke only highlights for us the sun going dark. Other gospels tell us that there's earthquakes and even people who resurrected. I want you to notice the reason for the darkness in Matthew 27, verse 45. The Bible says now from the sixth hour, again that's noon, Matthew 27, verse 45, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour, that would be about 3 p.m. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And I don't want to get too far into this and get into too many details because of the fact that it's a heavy theological discussion and because of the fact that I have to just be very honest with you, I don't understand it completely myself. But I believe that the reason that the sun went dark is because at this time the Bible tells us, the Bible tells us that Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteous of God in him. I believe that at this moment there was a separation in the Trinity. We know that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross and his soul went down to hell, but the Father did not, nor did the Holy Spirit. And at this time, for the first time in history and the only time in history, there was a separation between the Father and the Son. Don't ask me questions, I don't understand how that works. But I know that Jesus says, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? A separation between the Son and the Father, where Jesus becomes the embodiment and carries upon his body the sins of the entire world. The wrath of God will be poured upon the Son as a punishment for sin and God turns off the lights so that he does not have to witness it. We see a vindication by the natural world. I want you to notice that we also see a vindication by the temple system. Go back to Luke 23 real quickly, verse 45. The Bible tells us in Luke 23, verse 45, And the sun was darkened, notice these words, and the veil of the temple was rent. And the veil in the temple was rent in the midst. Now that might not mean anything to you, but let me just quickly try to explain this for you. If you study the Old Testament and Moses creating the tabernacle and of course later it being moved into a physical temple, the Bible tells us that there was these two chambers within that area, one would be called the holy or the holy place, the other would be called the holy of holies. In the holy place, only priests were allowed to be there and do certain sacrifices, do certain things that they were required to do as Levitical priests. However, there was a veil and this would have been like a curtain, but don't think of a curtain like the one you have at home maybe. It would have been a very thick curtain, many layers to this curtain, a big aggressive border that would separate the holy and the unholy. And in that holiest of holy places where the Ark of the Covenant resided, which was a representation of the presence of God, this veil would represent the fact that there was a separation between man and God. And only one man in one place at one time of year, the high priest was allowed to go on the Day of Atonement into that holy of holy only after he made a sacrifice for himself and then would enter into that holy of holies making a sacrifice for the congregation with the blood of the lamb to sprinkle the lamb upon the seat of the covenant there. And only the high priest was allowed to enter into the holy of holies and the old Levitical system, the temple system, the Old Testament system, was a system that told people that only certain people at certain times and certain places have access to God. That if you wanted access to God and you wanted an atonement for your sins, you had to go through a priest and that priest wasn't just allowed to walk in whenever he wanted only on a certain day, at a certain time, in a certain way, a certain man was allowed to do it. But now, the Bible is telling us, and now what we see is that the rent, and again if you realize this was a very thick curtain for it to rent, and other Gospels tell us it happened from the top to the bottom, it was rented. You say, what was this? It was divine vandalism. God was renting the temple, the veil at the temple at the death of Christ signifying that now there is access to all men, to God the Father. The Bible says for there is one man and one mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this temple, this veil of the temple being rent signifies the fact that the lack of access to God was now God, that all of us can come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of us have access to the glory of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of us can be saved and have a reunion with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. And even after salvation, we can enter into his presence through prayer through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That veil was rent and allowed access. And by the way, that veil also represented his body that was rent. We see a vindication. The natural world and the temple system, the supernatural vindications tell us that Jesus was who he said he was. Let's go ahead and conclude this. Look at verse 46. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, I want you to notice that nothing in the Bible is there by coincidence. Nothing is incidental or coincidental. The Bible tells us that when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, if Jesus cried with a loud voice, and the Bible documents that, it's to tell us one thing, he was very loud when he said this. He cried with a loud voice and he said, Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit, and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. In Matthew, you don't have to turn there, the same centurion also said, I want you to notice that Jesus dies here on the cross. He cried with a loud voice. He said, Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit, and he gave up the ghost. And other gospels were told that he said different things. He said all of the things that are documented. He said it is finished, and he gave up the ghost. And he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and he gave up the ghost. And other gospels were told that he said different things. And he gave up the ghost. In Mark chapter 15, I'd like you to turn there real quickly. We're going to look at a passage in Mark, passage in John, and we'll finish up. Mark chapter 15. We're going to look at this on Wednesday night, the burial of Christ, and a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea who wants to bury Jesus goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus. We're reading about that in Mark 15, 44. This is after the death of Christ. Joseph of Arimathea comes in and asks Pilate for the body of Jesus and tells Pilate that Jesus is dead. I want you to notice a very curious verse that always intrigued me before in the Bible, Mark 15, 44. And Pilate marveled if he were already dead. And calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. When Joseph of Arimathea comes to Pilate and says, I'd like to have the body of Jesus, Jesus has died, I'd like to take his body and bury it, Pilate marveled, the Bible says he was shocked, he was amazed that Jesus had already died, that he was already dead. In fact, he had the centurion to get confirmation that Jesus actually was dead. You say, why would that be? Go to John real quickly, John chapter 10. You're there in Mark, Luke, John, John chapter 10. Remember that though the Romans had not invented crucifixion, crucifixion was actually invented by the Greeks, they had perfected crucifixion. In fact, they had gotten very good at this. This had become an art form for them. They were very skilled at killing people using the instrument of the cross in a very methodical, in a very slow, in a very painful way. The purpose of these crucifixions was to give a warning to everyone, don't mess with the Roman Empire. And there are historical accounts that tell us that the Roman Empire would often, it would often take people several days to die. They would often leave bodies alive hanging on the cross for several days, slowly dying as a warning. Oftentimes after people die, they would be left on the cross and they would allow animals and birds to just pick at their bodies as a warning. Don't mess with the Roman Empire. However, Jesus somehow messes up their plan. He cries with loud voice, gives up the ghost, and they're all shocked. That's it? I mean, we got Simon to carry the cross, we wanted to keep him alive long, wanted to make this a public spectacle for a long time. How is he already dead? I mean, the sun went dark, that was unique, and then the sun comes back up, and the light comes back on, and then Jesus just cries with a loud voice. Why was that unique? And here's what I want you to understand. The death at the cross was meant to be a slow, painful death. It was meant to be a process by which life slowly left a human being. And though they would often begin up there, and history tells us that some criminals would be up there and they would be mocking, the ones on the cross would be mocking the people downstairs, cursing at the people down there, angry at those that have crucified them, not like Jesus, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, that would slowly come to an end. Because as their bodies began to shut down, as their bodies began to be dehydrated, as their bodies began to lose blood and lose life, that body that might have been up there for the first hour or two or three, cursing at those crucified, would have slowly began to shut down, yes, alive. But their death would have been very slow, and it would have been very quiet. The groanings, the screaming, the yelling would slowly go down to just grunt as the life left their body. With Jesus, this was not the case. With Jesus, after being on the cross for several hours, the Bible tells us that he did something that they did not normally hear people do on the cross right before they died. He cried with a loud voice, and he said, Father, into thy hand I commend my spirit. It's almost like he decided, I'm done, and gave up the ghost. You say, why was this? John chapter 10, verse 17, are you there? John 10, 17. Pilate said, he's already dead? We've already killed him? Well, here's the thing, Pilate, you didn't kill him. John 10, 17, this is what Jesus said, therefore doth my father love me, because I laid out in my life that I might take it again. Don't miss verse 18, no man. The rulers of the synagogue, no man. The Roman soldiers, no man. The Jewish people, the Roman people, the temple, the empire coming together, conspiring against Jesus, no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. He said, who killed Jesus? No one killed Jesus, he gave up the ghost. He laid down his life. They did not take it from him when he was done, he said, I'm done. And he cried with a loud voice and said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. So we see that Jesus did not have his life taken from him. But he laid it down, he sacrificed it for the sins of the whole world. Go back to Luke 23. Look at the last couple of verses, we'll finish up in verses 48 and 49. Tonight we'll be looking at the Lord's Supper from the Gospel of Luke, and on Wednesday night we'll pick up right where we left off at Luke 23 and verse 50 with the burial of Christ. But I just want you to see this. Luke 23 verse 48, and all the people that came together to that site, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned. And all his acquaintances and the women that followed him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding these things. For them this was a very somber sight, for them this was a very sad sight. For the next three days they will be very confused and fearful and afraid. Because they think that Rome and the synagogue and the temple has taken the life of Jesus. But you and I, we know better. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down, that I might take it again. And this is not where the story ends. We see the death of Christ, he laid down his life. But we'll see the resurrection of Christ when he takes it again and proves without a shadow of a doubt, everything that they were trying to disprove, that he really was the Christ, the Son of God, the chosen Messiah. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for this story. It's a somber story. It's a sad story if you don't know the ending. But for those of us that are saved, it is the power of salvation. Lord, we thank you that you gave your son, that he was given in sacrifice for our sins. And that he laid down his life, no man taketh it from him. That he might give us salvation. We love you. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. I want to encourage you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service. Tonight we're going to be studying and looking at the Lord's Supper, learning about the Lord's Supper. On Wednesday night, we'll do something we only do once a year here. We'll be receiving the Lord's Supper. And the purpose of the Lord's Supper is to show what we just learned about this morning, the death of Christ and the great sacrifice that was made on behalf of us for our sins. So I'd love for you to join us as we study the Lord's Supper, prepare for the Lord's Supper, and I want you to be with us on Wednesday night as we receive the Lord's Supper and partake of the Lord's Supper. And then, of course, I want to encourage you to be with us on Sunday morning. I want to encourage you to invite a friend as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we end this morning, if it's okay with Brother Matt and with the instruments, I'd like to change your plans a little bit. I'd like for us to sing this chorus again for what earthly reason. I know we just learned it this morning. Maybe we can sing it again. Brother Matt, I'm going to ask that you'd be ready to lead the second stanza if you would. Maybe now that we've studied the death of Christ, these words might ring a little more true. Let's sing it out. You learned it this morning. I understand that. So let's sing it out again. Sing with some passion. Sing it with some purpose on the first. For what earthly reason would the heavenly Father send down His Son? To suffer rejection and pay for crimes He had not done. For what earthly reason would the Father let him hang on a tree? I worked with the answer. What earthly reason was we... Sing it out on the chorus. I was the reason of what earthly reason. I was the guilty. He was the sacrifice. I was the taker. He was the giver. That in what I go free. And what earthly reason was we... Sing it out on the second. The fairest of angels would I summon from the throne up in the sky. Not even the angels could die. The only provision for my freedom was destined to be. The sweet lamb of glory, what is earthly reason was we... Sing it out on the chorus. I was the reason. That in what earthly reason. I was the guilty. I was the sacrifice. I was the taker. He was the giver. That in what I go free. The only provision was destined to be. Lord, I pray that you would be with us the rest of this day, be with the soul winners that go out, and bring us back to church safely this evening. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.