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So this is a fantastic chapter dealing with the crucifixion of Christ. So if there was anything that, you know, the whole Bible pretty much is just looking towards this and looking back towards this. So the cross of Christ, and that's what we're dealing with here. So we have kind of the torment in chapter 26 and 27 of just the sorrow and just everything that he's going through. But then in chapter 28 is the good news, the victory. But in this chapter you're dealing with the crucifixion and we start off here. If you remember in chapter 26 we ended with how Caiaphas and all them were accusing him and Peter denied him three times. And so we go from that to him going before Pilate, so Pontius Pilate. So in verse one there of chapter 27 it says, when the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. So we see that he's going to Pontius Pilate, or they're delivering him to Pontius Pilate. And I already preached on this I think last week dealing with the fact that they say, you know, we can't put him to death and it's not lawful for them to put anybody to death. So that's why they're taking him to Pontius Pilate. If they had authority to do it, they just put it down to themselves. And so they're going to the authority of that day or the powers that be of that day, which is the Roman government. And we see that Judas here is actually going to be repentant. So you get this repenting of sins crowd. It's actually funny because what we're going to see here is that Judas repents of his sin and he goes to hell. So one of the people that actually repents of their sins in the Bible and realizes what they did was wrong. You know, like all these different things. You know, they always kind of say that you need to be willing to turn and, you know, all this other stuff. It's like, yeah, Judas did that. That doesn't mean he got saved. So in verse three there it says, then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, I have sinned and that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, what is that to us? See thou to that. So obviously notice that the chief priests don't care. They know that he's innocent, right? I mean, the chief priests, all these people are devils. But Judas here, you know, you think about the devil coming into him and all this stuff. And obviously he's the son of perdition. He's a devil, all these different things. But that doesn't mean that a devil couldn't show some type of repentance, you know? And so anybody is always like, you know, we see this all the time where there's, you know, wicked people like, I think Ted Bundy even said that, like, you know, he accepted Jesus Christ. And, you know, a lot of these mass murderers and psychopaths, you know, they're in prison and then they'll be like, I'm a Christian. I got saved and all this stuff and it's like, yeah, right. Okay. But it's, it's all a big show and all that. So, but we see that he, he, he says, I have betrayed the innocent blood. That's interesting because go to Psalm 94. That phrase condemning the innocent blood is actually in Psalm 94. And what we're going to see actually in this chapter in verse or in chapter 27 is there's a lot of quotes and it doesn't necessarily say, sometimes it says as it is written or, you know, spoken by certain prophet, but some of these things are said and the people are just saying it. Okay. So Judas doesn't say as it is written, you know, when he said this, he's just saying it, but it's actually something that was actually in the Bible. Okay. And so that's kind of what's interesting about some of these quotes in this chapter is how it is actually a quote from the Bible. But in, in Psalm 94 in verse 20, it says, shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law. They gathered themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood. But the Lord is my defense and my God is the rock of my refuge. And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off. Okay. Now that phrase, the innocent blood, this is the only other place that it's mentioned. So you think of, you know, where Judas says that, and then it's only mentioned here in Psalm, you know, obviously innocent blood's mentioned, you know, like shedding of innocent blood, but the innocent blood, the definite article D being applied there. Because if you think about it, Jesus was the only innocent blood of man to ever walk the face of the earth. So he is the innocent blood if you want to look at it that way. And so, Judas, I believe, is recognizing here that he betrayed the Son of God. He betrayed the Messiah, you know, and obviously he should have known better and, you know, he's reprobating all that, but, you know, obviously that's what it's doing here. Now in verse five, it goes on to go into how he cast down the 30 pieces of silver. So if you remember in chapter 26, he covenanted with them saying, I'll betray him for 30 pieces of silver. And he goes in verse five, it says, and he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, it is not lawful for to put them into the treasury because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in, wherefore that field was called the field of blood unto this day, then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying, and they took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value and gave them for the potter's field as the Lord appointed me. Now what's interesting about this is that, well there's a couple things that are interesting, but go to Zechariah chapter 11. Actually where you're going to actually see this stated in the Old Testament is in Zechariah. It says spoken by Jeremy the prophet, I'm going to get to that. The key there is it's spoken, it doesn't say it was written in Jeremiah the prophet. It says it was spoken by him. But all this stuff actually fits perfectly with what it says in Zechariah. So Zechariah chapter 11, Zechariah chapter 11, and I already went through the so-called contradictions that he hanged himself, but then he fell headlong and his bowels burst asunder and we kind of already covered that. But it says in Zechariah chapter 11 verse 12, it says, and I said unto them, if you think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. Now if you know who's talking here, it's the Lord that's talking. That's interesting. It's also, this is actually another great place to show the deity of Christ because the Lord is talking to Zechariah here, talking to Israel, and it says, and I said unto them, if you think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver, and the Lord said unto me, cast it unto the potter a goodly price that I was priced at of them, and I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. So you know, who's talking here? Obviously it says the Lord said a goodly price I was priced at, and so obviously we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ that was priced for thirty pieces of silver, but notice that it was, you know, that all fits, but it was cast unto the potter in verse 13, and it says, cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Where did he cast the thirty pieces of silver at? In the temple. So that was the house of the Lord. So he cast the thirty pieces of silver in the temple, and what did they buy with that? The potter's field. And so you see all that stuff fits there, and it says it was called the field of blood. Now in Acts chapter 1 it says that it's called a seldoma, which is the field of blood. So that all fits together, and you know, with the prophecy. You say, well it says in Jeremiah, it says that it was spoken by Jeremiah. Well I think I've already touched on this many times, but go to Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2, that's why every word's important in the Bible. When it says as it is written, then you need to find out where it's written. It's actually written down in the Old Testament. But if it says spoken, it could be written as well. But spoken doesn't mean that it's written. And so Matthew chapter 2 and verse 23, we're going to see another case where this happens. It says in verse 23, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. So notice that it's not even just one prophet speaking this, but multiple prophets are speaking this that he's going to be called a Nazarene. That's nowhere in the Old Testament written. But it was spoken. Now it is written, because it's in Matthew chapter 2, you know, so it's not that it never was written, because it eventually was written down. So that is, you know, a Bible. That is truth. That was a prophecy that was fulfilled, but it wasn't written until it was actually fulfilled. And so notice that, because people will just, you know, balk at that and say, well that's a contradiction in the Bible, it's not actually in the Old Testament. No, it says it was spoken, it doesn't say it was written. Same thing with Jude. Go to Jude in verse 14 with Enoch. And Enoch, we're talking like at the beginning of Genesis here with Enoch, you know, before the flood, because Enoch was translated, that he didn't see, that he didn't taste of death, you know, and he was translated. So obviously, he lived a shorter life, but it was still long, right, it was still hundreds of years, it's long. But in verse 14, it says, and Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousandths of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Now that hasn't even happened yet. Now that's talking about Jesus coming the second time and coming with vengeance the day of the Lord, right, and, you know, coming with all his saints and all that, so that hasn't even happened yet, but that's been prophesied since Enoch, at least, okay. We know that Enoch prophesied this, but when was it written? Not until Jude. So thousands, you know, four thousand years go by before it's actually written down. And then go to 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1. So it also shows you, too, that, you know, they may have known more than you thought in the Old Testament. Now I think that they didn't know any more than we know now from what the Bible teaches. Does that make sense? Like there's no, like, hidden thing that they were speaking about that we don't know now? And this is why, and I'll, you know, I'll prove that, why I believe that in 2 Peter chapter 1, it says in verse 19, we have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in the dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first that no prophecy of the Scriptures of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Notice that it doesn't say that it was written. Now, obviously, it says my tongue is the pen of a ready writer, but what it really comes out to is that he spoke by these men, and, but then he'd also command them to write down what he's speaking to them. And you know, Jeremiah, you could think of where God says, write these things down, and it will actually tell the prophets, write this stuff down. And so sometimes, though, it wasn't written down or, you know, it was just spoken, and it was spoken by a lot of prophets, but it wasn't written down. Okay. And so it is interesting to know that, hey, there was things that were said back in the Old Testament, and they were prophesying these things. Prophets were prophesying that he was going to be called a Nazarene, but it wasn't written. So that's why it's not wise to go to the Old Testament and say, well, this is all they had. This is the only information that they had. It's not wise to do that. You know, so because people say, well, you know, the gospel is just not that clear in the Old Testament. It's like, how do you know what they were preaching? They were preaching the gospel back then. And so you don't know the other information, but I'll say this, I don't believe there's any information that was preached back then that we don't have now in the New Testament. Okay. So there's things that, you know, that are in the epistles and stuff like that that may have been preached back then. You know what I mean? So you just got to be careful when you're, because people do that with dispensationalism and try to say, you know, well, they didn't know all this stuff, and, you know, what we see in the New Testament, they may not know. I'd say a lot of the revealed stuff in the New Testament they didn't know about, but that doesn't mean all of it. So by going back to Matthew chapter 27, so that answers that, you know, where it says spoken by Jeremy the prophet, yeah, he spoke it too. So did Zechariah, but Zechariah wrote it down, okay. And so Matthew chapter 27 in verse 11, we see where he's talking to Pilate and it says in verse 11, and Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him saying, art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing, then said Pilate unto him, hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word, insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. So it's very interesting how Jesus dealt with this, where he's not basically going to even answer these accusations. You know, when it's a false accusation, it's kind of like, you know, the old phrase damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of thing, because if you say, well, I didn't do it, it makes you look guilty. And then if you say, if you, you know, it doesn't matter what you say, they're going to think you're guilty because they're obviously coming at you with these false accusations anyway. And actually the best thing to do is maybe just not even say anything about it. Just let them, you know, incriminate themselves, right? Because what we see in this chapter is that Pilate knows that he's innocent. He knows that he's a just man and he knows that it was only for envy that they brought him up there. And so he kind of just let them make fools of themselves is what he does with, you know, not saying anything to him. Now, obviously with Herod and another passage where you're dealing with this, where he goes to Herod, he doesn't answer him. Well, Herod's a reprobate at that point. He calls him a fox. So obviously he doesn't care to give him any type of answer. So the Lord is not talking to him at all. But going on from that, you know, thinking about this conversation, because we don't see that much between the conversation between Jesus and Pilate there, go to John chapter 18, we see a little bit more of a back and forth between Pilate. Now what I, what I believe is where he's not, where he's not talking to Pilate, it's where the chief priests and elders are trying to accuse him. Okay. So you basically have these chief priests and elders that are like saying he's done all this stuff. And then Pilate's like, are you not going to answer anything? And one of the main reasons that he's not answering is because of them, right? He's not answering them. He's not going to answer to the false accusations, but he does talk. He does have a back and forth with Pilate. And we see that more so in John chapter 18, because he doesn't even say to Pilate in Matthew 27, it says, thou sayest, you know, he says, art thou a king, you know, art thou the King of the Jews? And he says, thou sayest. Now in John 18 and verse 33, it says, then Pilate answered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto him, art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, sayest thou this thing of thyself or do others tell it thee of me? And so it's interesting that he asked that question. He's kind of asking him, you know, are you just saying this, you know, because someone else told you this, are you literally asking me this because you want to know, right? And so he's kind of, you know, questioning him. And in verse 35 says, Pilate answered, am I a Jew, thine own nation and chief priests have delivered thee unto me, what hast thou done? So notice that he says, thine own nation and chief priests. And what I'm going to really, you know, kind of nail down is that Jesus was betrayed, not just by the leaders, but by his own nation. He came into his own, his own received them not, and it was not just the rulers that betrayed him. And, you know, he's basically saying, it's your own nation that's doing this. I'm not, Pilate is not the one accusing him, right? He's not the one trying to put him to death. It's his own countrymen, you know, that are coming and saying, you know, he's, he's worthy of death. And verse 36, it says, Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence. Isn't it, it's funny how people want to say the Jews had nothing, you know, like trying to take them out of the equation that they didn't kill Jesus. I mean, Pilate is saying, it's your countrymen that's doing this. Jesus is saying, you know, if my, if this, if my kingdom was of this world, I wouldn't be delivered unto the Jews. Right? And he's very clear who's betraying him and who's trying to get him put to death here. And verse 37 says, Pilate therefore said unto him, art thou a king then? Jesus answered, thou sayest that I am a king, to this end was I born. And that's just a profound statement that, that Jesus makes here because you remember in Matthew chapter 2, when the, the wise men came to see Jesus, what did they say? You know, that they were looking for him that is called King of the Jews. So it starts off, you know, when Jesus was born and when he was a child, they were looking for the King of the Jews and he was the King of the Jews, still is, you know, but he's the King of kings, but, and it says to this end was I born. So he's going all the way back, you know, I was, this is why I came in to this world. This is why I came is for this end, which is what the cross, to die for the sins of the world. And it says for this cause came I into the world that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice. And then Pilate saith unto him, saith unto him, what is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. So notice how Pilate, Pilate's like, this guy is not, there's no fault in him at all. He's not even, he's just saying there's nothing, he's innocent. And you know, what is truth? What a statement, you know, what is truth? And you know, we know who truth is, the Lord Jesus Christ, I am the way, the truth and the life and no man cometh unto the father, but by me, and you know, the world is looking for truth today, but they're looking for it in all the wrong places. The King James Bible right here is where you're going to find the truth. And it's in the face of Jesus Christ that you're going to find the truth. And people are looking for the truth, but they're looking for it in the wrong places most of the time. And so, but I'd say most people are wanting to know what the truth is. And but Pilate is even saying, he's like, what is truth? He's even questioning what truth even is, right? But going on from that, we see that Israel is going to choose a murderer over Jesus. So notice in Matthew chapter 27 verse 15, it says, now at the feast, the governor was want to release unto the people, a prisoner whom they would, and they, they had it then a notable prisoner, prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas or Jesus, which is called Christ. Now it says, for he knew that for envy, they had delivered him. So notice that he's, he's saying, you know, he gathered, gathered together, you know, all these people and everything. And he knew that the chief priests and elders had gathered, you know, there was, it's all because of envy that they want Jesus to be killed. And you can imagine what he's doing here. And I believe what he's doing is he's putting this really bad guy next to Jesus and hope hoping that they're not going to pick him, right? You got this, this really, this murderer over here, and then you have Jesus that he knows it's just the elders and the chief priests that are envious of this guy. And he's probably hoping that the people are going to look at this and be like, well, of course we want Jesus and not the murderer, right? So you can imagine that Pilate, he's trying to get out of this, right? He knows there's nothing wrong when he knows that it's for envy. And so he's, he's wanting to get out of this and he's, you know, to the very end, to the bitter end, he's trying to get out of like putting Jesus to death. And so it says in verse 19, when he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent him to him saying, have thou nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him, but the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus. So even his wife is coming to him and saying, I've had dreams about this man, you know, have nothing to do with this. You need to get out of this situation. And so even his wife is coming in and saying, he's just, there's no fault in him. And the Jews are just saying, no, no. And they convinced the multitude, they persuade the multitude to ask for Barabbas instead of Jesus. And notice what it says in verse 21, and the governor answered and said unto them, whether of the twain will you that I release unto you, they said Barabbas. So you can imagine Pilate's like, what in the world is going on, right? And it says Pilate says unto them, what shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ, they say, they all say unto him, let him be crucified. And the governor said, why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more saying, let him be crucified. So Pilate is just like, what in the world, you know, and he tried to, he tried to set it up. He's trying to lob up an easy one for him. Like, you know, do you want Jesus or do you want, you know, do you want your Christ, your Messiah, or do you want, you know, the murderer and this whole thing, you know, I think at John Hagee, there's like this conspiracy, this Calvary conspiracy and all this stuff and you know, Rome, you know, and all this stuff and how Rome was like against the Christ and you know, wanting to kill the Christ and all this stuff. Herod's the one that tried to kill the Christ when he killed all the babies from two years old and under, he's a Jew and who's trying to not kill Jesus here? It's Pilate. It's the governor of Rome. It doesn't look like he really cares whether this guy is saying he's the Christ or he's the king of the Jews here, right? It's not, it doesn't bother him. What's interesting though, it says, well, if you look at Mark, so it doesn't say that Barabbas just says he's a notable prisoner in this passage, but if you go to Mark chapter 15, Mark chapter 15 verse seven, it's going to tell us straightly that, that he's a murderer and that he caused insurrection. Okay. So basically he's a rebel, he's rebelling against Rome, right? And Mark 15 and verse seven, it says, and there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. So he's a murderer, he's caused insurrection against Rome, but notice that, you know, what really gets Pilate to where he just has no way out is what they say in John 19. So in John 19, John 19, basically Pilate's trying to, he's like, I'm going to release him. I'm going to let him go. I'm going to scourge him and let him go. So he's just like constantly, even after you scourge, he's just like, I'm going to let him go after that. I'm going to beat him. Maybe that'll be enough for them. But you know how rebates are, they're insatiable, they're implacable. That's not enough for them. They want them to die. And so in John 19 verse 12, it says, and from, from fence, hence, from fence forth, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out saying, if thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend, whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. Think of the hypocrisy here. They ended up picking an insurrectionist that committed murder against Rome and saying, you're not Caesar's friend. If you're for Jesus, you know, because he says that he's a king, but they picked the guy that actually committed insurrection against Rome and committed murder. Do you see the hypocrisy and what's going on there now, a pilot was smart. He'd be like, Barabbas actually is against Caesar and against Rome. And you know, Jesus has never said anything against, you know, like he's never been like, you know, picketing, you know, and doing all these different things against Rome or anything like that. Actually, he says, render therefore unto Caesar, what is Caesar's? So do you see the hypocrisy and all this and what's going on, obviously, just the unfairness of everything that happened with Jesus from the trial to everything that was done to him was just completely unfair, unjust. And you know, just, it just makes you cringe when you, when you read the story of just everything that happened to him. So whenever you feel like you're being wronged, think about what happened to Jesus and just all the hypocrisy, all the lies, all the deceit that these people did to him. Now again, I want to show you, go to Acts chapter three, that it's not just, it wasn't just the leaders that rejected Jesus and the Bible confirms that. In Acts chapter three and verse 13, it recounts the story of, of how they denied Jesus and wanted Barabbas. And in Acts chapter three and verse 13, it says, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers have glorified his son, Jesus, whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. So that's the record. The record is that they denied him, they delivered him to be killed, even when Pilate was determined to let him go. So is Peter here, are the apostles accusing Pilate of the one really that did it? And notice in verse 14, it says, but ye denied the Holy One and the just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you and killed the prince of life, whom God hath raised up, raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And this and his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know, yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now brethren, I what that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. Who's he talking to here? He's talking to the people. He's talking to the nation. He's saying you did this as also your rulers did. So it's not just the rulers. It was Israel as a whole. He came into his own and his own received him not, and it was, they persuaded the multitude. The multitude said, let him be crucified. And so they were persuaded by the elders, okay, so the elders and the chief priests were obviously the ones that are really pushing for it, but they persuaded the multitude. So the multitude, the multitude could have been like the jury that said, no, he's not guilty. Does that make sense? And just nullified the leaders and what they wanted, but the people stuck by their religious leaders in this. But going on from that in Matthew chapter 27, and this is a big chapter, so I'm kind of just chugging along through it because it's a big chapter and just a lot of stuff that's going on in here. And I really want to get to the crucifixion and Psalm 22 and just all those different things that are just perfectly quoted and all that stuff in this passage. But in Matthew 27 verse 24 it says, when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person, see ye to it. So it's interesting, you ever hear the phrase, I'm washing my hands of this? Where do you think that came from? There's so much in the Bible, I heard something else where someone was saying something, and I forget what the quote was, but I'm like, that's in the Bible. People don't even realize the phrases, and I know I preached a sermon on this, I forget what the title was of the sermon, but where I was kind of going through the Bible and just different sayings that are said, like we've escaped by the skin of our teeth, all these different things that the Bible says. And Job has a lot of those, where those are repeated. But that's one, washing your hands of something. It's Pilate washing his hands saying, I'm not a part of this. But it doesn't mean that he's innocent. In John 19, you don't have to turn there, but Jesus says to him, in John 19, 11 it says, Jesus answered, thou couldest have no power at all against me except that were given thee from above. Therefore, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. So that means, he doesn't say that they have the sin, he says they have the greater sin. So that means he's still sinning. So Pilate, the fact that he just bowed down to their wishes is sinning here. He's condemning a just man, and it was under his authority, meaning they couldn't have done it if it wasn't for Pilate giving his blessing on it. And you can wash your hands as much as you want from it, it doesn't mean that you're going to be innocent from it. So this could be a whole sermon in itself dealing with that, where people try to wash their hands of something, but they're still allowing it to happen, and how that doesn't excuse them. And so Pilate is still in sin here, but it's not as great as the sin of those that delivered him up to him. And notice this phrase that comes up later here in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 25, if this doesn't give you chills, I don't know what will. And verse 25 says, Then answered all the people, all the people, and said, His blood be on us and on our children. Wow, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, they're saying let it be on us and on our children, and is that not the case with them and how they were cursed since then. And God talks about this in Romans chapter 11, how he has blinded their eyes, and David talks about that basically that their table will be made a snare, and just a curse that's been put on them ever since then. You think about the fig tree parable, the parable of the fig tree where it talks about dunging it and stuff like that, but then also where he says no fruit grow on the henceforth forever, and just all the different parables and stories that he told about how Israel was going to be desolate, and this is why. This is why it happened because they denied the prince of glory. They denied the Lord of glory, the prince of life, the holy one, just one, and it says, Let his blood be on us and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And so notice in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, this verse will actually make a lot of sense, or these verses here in 1 Thessalonians when you think about they said his blood be on us and on our children. And 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 14 it says, For ye brethren became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus, for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus. So who killed the Lord Jesus? The Jews. Who both killed the Lord Jesus in their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved. Notice this, to fill up their sins always, for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. Now listen, I want Jews to get saved, but listen, the Christ rejecting Jews of Judaism today are the same pharisaical Jews that were back then. They just continued on. The same ones, you know, that today you have people like Ben Shapiro who's saying that Jesus was, you know, just a dissenter who was killed for his trouble. You know, don't think that, you know, just because he's conservative and he can talk good to the liberal, you know, like just tear down a liberal's argument, listen, the liberals are a bunch of fools. It doesn't take much to make them look stupid. I'm not saying that Ben Shapiro's not smart, but he's a fool when it comes to the Lord and when it comes to salvation and he says that Jesus, you know, was killed for his trouble and that he's not a prophet and that he's not God and of course he would believe that. He's a Jew. Are we surprised at that? You know, the same people that, you know, like, oh, I'm a Judeo-Christian, I want nothing to do with the Judeo part of that phrase, okay? I am not a Judeo-Christian, I'm a Christian. You know, it was like, wow, the Jews and the Old Testament, that's not the Jews of today. The Jews of the Old Testament would believe, just like Peter, James, John, Andrew. Guess what? They were all Jews and they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus said, if you would have believed Moses, you would have believed me, but you don't believe Moses, neither do you believe me, you know? So that's what the Bible teaches on that and it's very clear, you know, if anybody that would have just a simple reading of this passage would not say that the Jews had nothing to do with the crucifixion of Christ, it would just be ridiculous to say something like that. And then, where am I at in my notes here? Yeah, so, yeah, okay, I need to switch the page. So I thought I switched it and I was looking at the top and I'm like, no, I already hit that. In Matthew 27, verse 27, we see Jesus being mocked and spit on and, you know, before this he was already buffeted and, you know, where they blindfolded him and beat him, you know, before he even came to Pilate, but now we have the Roman soldiers doing this. So is Rome not at fault for anything here? No. Rome is at fault too, but again, the Jews had the greater sin and they're the ones saying, let his blood be on us and on our children. And in verse 27 here, it says, then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers and they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying, hail, king of the Jews. And they spit upon him and took the reed and smote him on the head. And after that, they had mocked him. They took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on him and led him away to crucify him. So just think of the shame. They stripped him, they stripped him of his clothing. You know, they, they scourged him, they strip him of his clothing and you imagine how bad that hurts. I mean, if you've ever had a cut, you know, you're usually gentle with that, but just all the stripes and everything that are being scourged and then they're just ripping his clothes off, putting his clothes back on, ripping it off, and then they platted this crown of thorns and put it on his head. So just how blasphemous this is to do to the Lord Jesus Christ, to put a crown of thorns. Now we saw this prophesied, you think of Genesis 22 where it found the ram and the thicket, you know, and how all that symbolism of, of the crown of thorns. But they took, they put a reed on him and they mocked him and they, they bowed down the knee to him saying, hail, king of the Jews, and they're doing it mockingly. So you know, just making fun of him. And then they took the reed and smote him on the head. Imagine how bad that would hurt. It'd hurt bad enough if you hit someone in the head with a reed, but imagine if you had a crown of thorns on your head as they were doing this. So you just think about what Jesus is going through here. And the Bible says that he despised the shame and this is very shameful and just disrespectful. Everything that they're doing to him is just, you know, just completely degrading. And it just, you know, when you read through the stories, you can't read through the story and not just be sad of what they did to your savior and just what, you know, mankind did. You know, we're all sinners and we're all in there with that, meaning that, you know, we, we, who knows if we would have been in that group doing that. And that's where Jesus, you know, in another gospel, it says that, that he says, forgive them for they know not what they do. See the chief priests and rulers, they knew what they were doing, but the soldiers didn't. Right? They didn't know what they were doing. Now it was wicked what they were doing, but they were doing this to him. And so that's the difference between loving your enemy and hating God's enemy, hating those that hate God. Right? Meaning that he wouldn't even speak to the elders and the chief priests because they're a bunch of devils, but the Romans that are beating him, spitting upon him, putting a crown of thorns and nailing him to a cross, he says, father, forgive them for they know not what to do. Why? Because they're ignorant. And that's why Paul had mercy, because he did it in ignorance and unbelief, right? And so there are people that do some really wicked things as far as that, that would maybe come against you and try to hurt you or try to ruin your life somehow. You think of these people that are trying to get me fired or something like that. Not all of them are reprobate. Some of them are probably just really deceived people and they think they're doing God's service. I don't know. But when it comes to those people, if they're not reprobate, then Lord forgive them for they know not what they do. I want to see them get saved, because I don't want to see them go to hell. But you've got to imagine that these same people are on the cusp of being too late. Just like Paul, he was the cheapest among sinners, meaning that he was on the cusp. If he would have got saved at the road of Damascus, I believe he would have been reprobate. That was his last chance. But going on from there, look at 1 Peter chapter 2, and this is a great example of how we should endure afflictions, is how Jesus dealt with it. You didn't see Jesus cussing these people out. I know it's silly to even think about it, but let's just think about it. He didn't threaten them. Actually he said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. And so, you know, the love and compassion he had for even the people that were crucifying him. And in 1 Peter chapter 2, it says in verse 19, for this is thank worthy, if a man for conscience toward God endured grief, suffering wrongfully. So notice suffering wrongfully, and Jesus obviously is the one that suffered more wrongfully than anybody. He was the innocent blood. But it says in verse 20, for what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults you take it patiently. But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. So it's basically saying if you're buffeted for your own faults, that's your own fault. But if you're being buffeted for something that you didn't do, or it's not right, you're suffering wrongfully, and you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. Notice what it says in verse 21, for even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. And you think about this story, that's what it's going to get into. It says in verse 22, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. And so Jesus is the greatest example of this. You think about what he went through going to the cross, and how they were reviling him and mocking him, but did you see him mocking them? And you know, don't get this confused when you're dealing with reprobates though, because Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal. And Jesus mocks and basically calls out and calls like the Pharisee serpents and blind guides and goes into all of these details. That's different than suffering wrongfully, people that are just unsaved people, okay? That are just your personal enemies, right? And they're doing it ignorantly most of the time, right? If they weren't, then they're a devil, right? If they know like that's what the Bible teaches, but I'm going to persecute you anyway because I hate the Bible, you know, that's what I come down to. But a lot of these people are ignorant of what the Bible says, and therefore they think that you're wicked, you know, and they're the ones that are ignorant, right? They're ignorant of what the Bible teaches, but if they knew what the Bible taught on that, and they knew the ramifications of that, then they probably wouldn't do it, okay? So Jesus is the greatest example of that. We see in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 32 where He is crucified. And it's interesting because it doesn't give us a lot of information in this chapter of what's going on, or like what He's going through during this process, you know? As far as it doesn't say like, you know, they took the nails and they drove it into His hands, you know, it doesn't give you like all these details as far as what's going on. It just says, and they crucified Him, right? And notice in verse 32, it says, and as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, whom they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, they parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down there, I'm sorry, and sitting down, they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation written, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. So notice that it talks about, you know, him being crucified and parting his garments, and all this that's going on. But it doesn't give you like a whole bunch of detail now, but this is talked about in Psalm 22. And what we're gonna see as we're going through this is how there's a lot of things that are said in Psalm 22 that are exactly what happens here in Matthew 27, and obviously in the other accounts of this in the other Gospels. Now Psalm 22, notice in verse 14, what's interesting about Psalm 22, when you read through Matthew 27, you're actually gonna see events happening in reverse in Psalm 22, okay? So Psalm 22 starts off with my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? But that's actually one of the last things that's mentioned in this whole process. It's actually completely, so if you're reading Psalm 22, you actually have to start at the bottom of Psalm 22 or at the end of it, and work your way back up to go through the story and you know, forward here. I don't know if that, that doesn't really have any significance, but it's just interesting that it does that. But in Psalm 22 in verse 14, it says, now this is where I believe you're gonna see more information as far as what's going on. You know, it's just like when you go to Isaiah 53, or you go to Jonah chapter two to really see, you know, some more information and calling back to that. But in Psalm 22 in verse 14, it says, I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax and is melted in the midst of my bowels. It says my strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue cleave it to my jaws, and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me, they part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. So notice that it says as it is written, it's calling you back to Psalm 22, where it says they parted my, you know, they parted my garments and for my vesture, they did cast lots. And it's calling you back to this, but notice now it's giving you some information as far as what's going on. He says, I'm poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. That's intense to think about when he was crucified that all his, you imagine your shoulders being out of joint, you know, your legs being out of joint and just the excruciating pain of that. My heart is like wax, it melt, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, my tongue cleave it to my jaws, and you can think about what he says, I thirst. And that's one of the phrases he says when he's on the cross is I thirst. It says thou has brought me into the dust of death for dogs have compassed me about. Now we're going to see this as we read through here because there are some dogs that are talking to him that are wagging their heads at him and accusing him even while he's on the cross. Okay. And obviously, we know dogs spiritually what we're dealing with. We're dealing with reprobates, right? And it says beware of dogs, beware of the concision, right? Beware of evil workers. They have the enemies of the cross of Christ. And it says I may tell on my bones. Now what's that mean? You think of a teller at the bank, what does a teller do? Counts the money, right? So they count the money. So when it says I tell all my bones, it means I can basically count my bones because I can see them, right? So that may give you an idea of maybe what he went through with the scourging and just how emaciated he was or just basically how, the Bible says, and I don't have this in there, but in Isaiah 52, it says his visage was marred more than any man. And that is clearly talking about Jesus because it's in the same sentence when it talks about he shall sprinkle many nations and that's quoted in the New Testament talking about Jesus. And so when it says I tell on my bones, it's probably because there's a lot to be said about what he looked like on the cross. But he didn't even look like a man. That's how bad he looked when he was on the cross. And so, yeah, I mean, what he went through was something that you can never imagine. But going on from that, we're going to see other places that as we read on here where it's calling back to Psalm 22 and Matthew 27 verse 38, it says, then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads and saying, so here's your dogs that are compassing him about. Thou that destroys the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself, if thou be the son of God, come down from the cross. Notice the ignorance of what they just said. When he said that, it says in John chapter two, that he spake of his body, right, says, destroy this temple and in three days, I'll raise it up. And they said 40 and six years with this temple and building, will thou rear it up in three days, it says, but he spake of the temple of his body. So they're saying this, you know, come down, it's like, well, how in the world, that wouldn't make sense then, then he wouldn't be able to build it in three days, right? The whole point is that he's going to die for three days, he'd be dead for three days and then raise it up the third day. And so obviously, then that would make it not true if he actually did that. But obviously, they're, they're not putting two and two together. And that's their, that was the accusation. That was the false witness that supposedly condemned him was this accusation that he's going to destroy the temple and build it in three days. And it says in verse 41, it says, likewise, also the chief priests mocking him with the scribes and elders said, he saved others himself he cannot save, if he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him. Notice this phrase right here. Notice what they say. He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the son of God, the thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same in his teeth. Now one thing before we go on from that is the thieves, both of them were casting this in his teeth. So that shows you the one thief that ended up getting saved was actually, you know, mocking and ridiculing Jesus, you know, kind of like casting the same thing into his teeth. He's like, yeah, you know, why don't you save yourself? So it shows you that that thief, you know, had a change of heart somewhere, you know, up there on the cross, okay, as far as what was going on. Because you think about the things that he said up there, like, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do and like different things and he was probably speaking other things too that we don't know about. But that verse 43 there, think about it says, he trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the son of God. Notice Psalm 22 and verse six, Psalm 22 verse six says, but I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people, all they that see me, laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying, he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. They're literally quoting off Psalm 22. He trusted in God, let him deliver him now. And it says in Psalm 22, he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him. Isn't that uncanny, you know, they're supposed to be the knowledgeable people about the Bible, but they're literally quoting what the Bible says that they would do unto Jesus, unto the Christ and probably not even realizing it because they're ignorant of the Bible, right? And so it's just amazing how that's in there. So like I said, there's quotes in here that aren't saying as it is written, they didn't say as it is written, he trusted in God, you know what I mean? They're just saying that, but that's exactly what the Bible said they would say. And in Matthew chapter 27, we see where he actually, he gives up the ghost and we'll see that famous phrase that's actually the beginning of Psalm 22. In Matthew 27 verse 45, it says, now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. Think about that for a second. It's completely dark for three hours, three hours, completely dark. And obviously he's going to be in, he's going to be in hell and be dead for three days. You know, there's obviously a significance to the three hours, but just darkness for three hours and no one thinks anything's off here, you know, just all this stuff that's going to happen here, you know, when he dies and all this, that this is obviously they did something wrong. And there's, there is a man, you know, there's a centurion that's going to be like, yeah, this was the son of God. But in Matthew 27 verse 45, it says that there was darkness over all the land. In verse 46, it says, and upon the ninth hour or 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 that's at the very beginning of Psalm 22 and it says, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my, my roaring? And it says some of them that stood there when they had heard that said, this man calls for Elias and straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it, put it on a reed and gave him to drink. The rest said, let, let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice yielded up the ghost. So they're, they're just like still just mocking like, ah, he's calling for Elias, see if Elias will save him, you know, and all this stuff. What's interesting that, you know, when he says my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? That, that's such a profound statement, obviously, that he's saying there, but why is he saying it? Well, go to second Corinthians chapter five, actually go to, go to Isaiah 59, Isaiah 59. Second Corinthians chapter five says this, it says in verse 21, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. I believe this three hours of darkness is where he's being made the sin of the world. And you say, well, why is he saying my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Well, notice what it says in Isaiah 59, Isaiah 59 and verse one, it says, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear. Those that you, when you look at Psalm 22, when he says my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He says, it says right after that, why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Why won't you hear me? Why? Well, what caused God's face to be hid and from him not to hear? Sin. And notice that right after this happens, he dies because sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth what? Death. So he dies because he made the sin of the world. But that's why I believe he's saying my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because the father has basically stopped hearing the son and turning his face, hiding his face from his own son. And you know, just the love of Jesus, you know, the love of God to allow that to happen so that he could take that punishment for us. And people take this way too far and be like, well, that means that you know, we're separated from God and that's what hell is. No. When you're talking about him hiding his face, he's talking about he won't hear you when you cry, right? The Lord loveth the righteous talks about how his ears open unto their prayer, but his face is against them that do evil. It's not that God's not there, you know, his face is against them that do evil, but he hears those that, you know, are righteous and that love him and all that. So, and Jesus was innocent. He was the innocent, the lamb without blemish and without spot, but he was made the sin of the world. It says for he had made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. So I believe the significance of those three hours of darkness is God the father laying the sins of the world upon him. And Isaiah 53 talks about this. It says that, you know, it pleased him to bruise him. And by his stripes we are healed. And it talks about how he shall make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. And all this had to happen. And you know, obviously he was going to go to hell for three days and three nights. That's where Jonah comes in, you know, talking about how he's going to be in the heart of the earth. All that happens. And obviously we know that the end of the story, when we get to chapter 28, that he's victorious over all this. But let's not forget, lest we forget Calvary. Lest we forget his agony. And whenever you think that you're going through a hard time, think about what he did for you. And if you ever want to know why you need to stick with living for God or stick in church and read your Bible and do what you need to be doing, it always really should just come back to the fact of what did Jesus do for us? Jesus paid it all to all to him I owe. Now that doesn't mean that we owe him for salvation because obviously it's a free gift. But think about that. You know, he died for us. How much more should we live for him? How much more should we do what we need to do and tell others about that same salvation? Because think about what he did on the cross and you know, all the stuff that he went through. Why? So people would get saved. So why don't we see as many people as we can see get saved to give him more glory? Obviously we should get people saved. Why? Because we don't want them to go to hell. We want them to get saved. We want to, you know, pull them out of the fire, right, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. But think about this. Don't you think your Savior deserves all the glory he could ever get? And the more people that get saved, the more people that are going to be there to glorify Jesus Christ for all eternity. And he deserves it. He deserves that everybody would be bound in need and believing on him and giving him that glory. And you know, that should be a motivating factor for why we go out soul winning. Jesus deserves it. Jesus deserves that glory. And he deserves every one of our lives to live for him. He doesn't ask for it, meaning he doesn't ask for a requirement to go to heaven, right? But as his children, he's asking us to serve him. He's already paid for our sins. That's all done. It's under the blood. That's the foundation. But we need to think about that, you know, as far as serving Christ. And just to finish off the chapter here, we see that after he dies, after he gives up the ghost, actually I was going to go into what happens. So after he dies, after he gives up the ghost there, I don't really have much on this. I'm just going to talk about it real quick. When he gives up the ghost, in verse 51 it says, Behold, the veil of the temple was rent and twain from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake and the rocks rent. Now this is great to show the end of the Old Testament. The veil, if you remember, was the veil between the tabernacle, the first tabernacle, and the second, which was the holiest of all, right? And that's where the Ark of the Covenant was at and all that and only the high priest can go through there. And it says this signifying the Holy Ghost that it was not given yet. And so what this shows is that the Old Testament was done. The moment he gave up the ghost, I mean the moment he gave up the ghost, why? Because of the death of the testator. That means the New Testament would just be gone right there. And so obviously there's a lot to deal with, with the veil being rent. But then notice in verse 52, this is interesting, this is only in Matthew. So I better hit on this, right, because we're in Matthew 27. It says in verse 52, it says, and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many. Now when you're reading through this, because then it goes straight into now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things which were done, they feared greatly saying truly this was the Son of God. So you kind of think that's all happening at once. That's all happening when he died. But it's saying that the graves being opened, that happened after the resurrection. Then it goes back and says, the centurion and them that were with him, when watching Jesus and saw the earthquake. So the earthquake is what they're kind of coming back to. So there's like this little interlude here talking about how after his resurrection, mind you, they're not writing this as these events are going on, right? It's not like they're writing this down as he's dying on the cross, right? This is all afterwards. So that's why we see that Judas is the betrayer from the very beginning, right, and they're writing about the Judas which also betrayed him. So spoiler alert, you know, that that happens. But spoiler alert, he resurrects. But it's interesting about this that these people come up out of the graves. Now, this isn't the same resurrection of Jesus because Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. He's the only one right now. He's the first begotten of the dead and he's the only one that has that resurrected body. But it's interesting because basically at his resurrection, as a sign, a lot of people that have died came up out of the graves and came and went into Jerusalem and into the holy city and it says that, sorry, I missed my place, appeared unto many. And you can think about how Lazarus obviously was raised from the dead, but you think about, you know, Samuel and how, remember Saul went to the witch at Endor and he saw this man coming up from the earth and people were like, oh, see, he's in hell, he's in paradise, that holding chamber. No, obviously he came up out of the grave and here's a case where it happens. People come up out of the grave. Why? Because he saw an old man. So that alone should tell you that that's probably not just the spirit because our spirits look old, you know, like when we die, you just die, you better just want to die young or in your prime because that's what you're going to look like for the rest of eternity, right? But obviously if he died, Samuel died as an old man. So therefore when he came back, he looked like an old man, right? But what's interesting about this and just something to think about, and this is just a theory or just something to kind of maybe bolster another thing that we believe dealing with end times prophecy is 144,000 and the two witnesses, okay? I personally believe that the two witnesses are going to be kind of like this where, you know, Moses and Elijah are brought back in a physical body. They're not in a resurrected body because both, if you think about it, the 144,000 are sealed and sent down here before the rapture and so are the two witnesses. The two witnesses are going to be here at the abomination of desolation and then they're not being caught up into heaven until right before the seventh trumpet sounds, okay? And so this kind of, you know, think about it, you know, these saints came up out of the ground or out of the grave right after his resurrection. And then the 144,000, the two witnesses are going to be coming up right before the first resurrection and so it's kind of like this parallel as far as, you know, people coming up out of the grave and witnessing because then they went in and appeared on the menu. What do you think they were doing? Probably witnessing the people, okay? And so just something to think about, you know, as far as something that's not really just talked about a lot, you know, the 144,000, it is spoken about but you're still kind of like, you know, what's exactly happening there, you know, with these people. And I believe that they're Old Testament saints. That's why I say that because they're in heaven to begin with before the rapture happens, they're sealed and then, you know, I believe they're sent down with the everlasting gospel to basically be a witness before the very end there where the seventh trumpet sounds. So anyway, I wanted to hit on that but then ending the chapter here, we just see that Joseph of Arimathea gets involved here and begs for the body of Jesus. So in verse 55, just to end the chapter here, it says, and many women were there beholding afar off which followed Jesus from Galilee ministering unto him among which was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee's children. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph who also himself was Jesus' disciple. So you know what? I believe that Joseph of Arimathea was a saved man and he was rich. You know what that shows you is that, hey, with God all things are possible. So, you know, Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man but, you know, he was Jesus' disciple and I don't think that like, obviously Judas was called a disciple but he was a false disciple but to be called a disciple by the narrator, you know what that means, that he's following Jesus. He's not just saved, he's actually a follower and doing what he should be doing. And it says in verse 58, it says, and went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered and when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in clean linen, in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher and departed. Now, if you didn't know what a sepulcher was, this verse really very much tells you what it is. It's a tomb and it's something that was hewn out of rock and in another gospel it says where never man sat, meaning that there's no one else in this tomb, okay. So it's a brand new tomb, no one else is in there, okay. And in verse 61 it says, and there was Mary Magdalene and the other Marys sitting over against the sepulcher. Now the next day that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate saying, sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. I want you to think about that for a second, they knew that. They weren't ignorant. Even the disciples were like cloudy on what was going on here and Jesus kind of hid it from their eyes, you know, as far as what was going on and, but these Pharisees, they said, we know that he said he would rise again the third day. Do you see, they're not ignorant, they're a bunch of devils, okay, and they're saying that deceiver, they're a bunch of deceivers and they're burning in hell right now. In verse 64 it says, command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure unto the third day, until the third day, lest the disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead. So the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, ye have a watch, go your way, make it as sure as you can. So you can imagine, Pilate's just like, I'm done with you guys, do whatever you want, you have your watch, go make it as sure as you can. So they went and made the sepulcher, sealing the stone and setting a watch. So they really had no excuse for, you know, because what they're going to do later is say, well, he stole them and all that stuff, but they even had a watch. They had people standing there, you know, guard, you know, standing guard. So the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ were literally standing guard for what's going on and we'll see in the next chapter what happens, obviously with the guards and all that stuff. But that's, it's kind of like the cliffhanger before the good news, you know, is that he's dead. The Lord Jesus Christ died. And the Bible says, you know, Jesus said, I am he that liveth and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore and have the keys of hell and of death. And you know, it's a great story. This is really the greatest story that's ever been told. Nothing will ever trump this story right here. And I don't know how many times I've read through Matthew 27, but it never gets old. Never gets old. I'm never bored reading through Matthew 27. And you know, it's just such a profound chapter and obviously this is our salvation. This is how our salvation was performed. And you know, just a great book and you know, we're obviously going to finish up the book next week, Lord willing, and you know, getting into the good news where he raises from the dead. So let's end with a word of prayer to the Heavenly Father that we thank you for today and thank you for all those that came out and I pray that you would help us to never forget the cross and Lord, never forget what you've done for us and Lord, to just be thinking about what you've done for us and Lord, you know, just as much as when we keep the Lord's supper to remember your death until you come, Lord, help us to always have that in the background of why we live for you and just thinking about what you did for us and what you did for the whole world. And Lord, just love you, pray to be with us throughout the rest of this week. I pray that you bless us in our jobs and our incomes and Lord, I just pray that you deliver us from any unreasonable or wicked men. Just help us through any persecution.