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I'll leave your Bibles open there in Matthew 27. I couldn't print my notes, so I've got to use my computer, so hopefully this works out okay. Matthew 27, and look at verse number 54, Matthew chapter 27 verse 54. 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. The title for the sermon tonight is The Son of God. And as you'll see, we'll get to this later on in the chapter, but you'll notice that this term, this phrase, this title, you know, the Son of God is given a few times here in this chapter. But let's start off with verse number 1 there, Matthew 27 verse 1. This is a long chapter, there's a lot to get through. I wish I could expound on much more than I had prepared, but just to be able to, you know, have this sermon, or preach on the whole chapter within a reasonable time of only, you know, pulled out certain things here that I think are important. But Matthew 27 verse 1, the Bible says, when the morning was come, now remember, Jesus Christ the night before had been arrested, right? Jesus had pointed him out, had kissed him on the cheek, and the servants of the chief priests have come and arrested Jesus Christ, who was brought before the chief rulers, before the Pharisees, and they were making false accusations against him. And now we have the next morning. When the morning was come, it says there, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And when they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. So just a reminder of the time period here, of course, you know, the Jews would hearken to the voice of the chief priests, to the elders of the people, but Israel was not a sovereign nation at this point in time. You know, the Jews were not a sovereign people, they were under the Roman Empire. And this is why they weren't allowed to put anybody to death, they had to get permission by the governor, and they took him here to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Verse number three, Then Judas, which had betrayed him when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. Now it's quite interesting that Jesus scariot, you know, betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver, but he realises that Jesus Christ himself is innocent blood, and that it's a truth. That's a truth that Jesus Christ came and when he walked this earth he was without sin. Okay, unlike you and I, which have sinned, you know, Jesus Christ became sin for us, he became our substitute, he had no sin in him. And unfortunately for Judas the scariot, he recognises that Jesus is of innocent blood. But he's still a non-believer, he's a betrayer of Jesus Christ, and you know, we can understand sometimes there are people on this earth that understand the gospel. They actually understand what Jesus Christ did, they understand that he's the son of God, they understand that he came to redeem the world, but they do not believe on him. And Judas the scariot is an example of this, right? He says here he repented of himself, and then verse number four at the end of it, and they said, what is that to us? See thou to that. You know, the chief priests here say, what's that to us? Who cares if he's innocent blood? This is your problem, it's not our problem. And then verse number five, and he casts down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. So Judas the scariot commits suicide, right? He's so overcome with grief, he's so overcome with what he's done that he's betrayed innocent blood, and he goes and commits suicide. What a sad end to Judas the scariot. Now the Bible makes it very clear that Judas was a non-believer, very clear that he did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice a couple of things about Judas the scariot. Number one, he was a disciple of Jesus Christ. Was he not a disciple? In fact, he even had the office of an apostle. He was one of the twelve apostles, right? He was a disciple, he was an apostle, and what else? He repented of his sins, didn't he? Right? He had taken, he had betrayed Jesus Christ, he had taken the pieces of silver, and he repents from that. Now here's the strange thing about this. You go to your average church, and you ask them, what do you have to do to be saved? Some churches will say, well you've got to become a disciple. Right? Or they'll say, you've got to repent of your sins. Well Judas the scariot did both! He was a disciple, and he repented of his sins, and he still died and went to hell. So why was that? Because he did not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not put his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many disciples, many people that think that they're following after Jesus Christ. You know, they say, well Jesus set me an example, I'm going to walk after his ways, but they believe their way to heaven, they believe their salvation is based on how they walk, how they follow after Christ. No! Salvation is not of works, right? Salvation is not based on how much he repents of your sins. Your salvation is based on your faith on the Lord Jesus Christ and that alone. Now, so you see how Judas the scariot, you know, he did all the right things, he would be considered in many churches as a Christian, but he was far from that, he was far from the Lord Jesus Christ, he did not have his faith placed upon him. Now the other interesting thing that comes up with Judas the scariot, is this is one of very few men in the Bible that you read about that commit suicide. And because Judas the scariot was an unsaved man, because he committed suicide and because he went to hell, there are those churches out there, there are people out there that think that well, if I commit suicide, then I'm going to hell, that I'm not saved, okay? Now yes, that's true for Judas the scariot. Okay, he committed suicide, he went to hell, but he didn't go to hell because he committed suicide, he went to hell because once again, he did not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? So I just want to clear any false teaching out there, if you've come to believe that suicide will get you to hell or something ridiculous like that, no! The Bible does not say don't commit suicide and thou shall be saved. The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved, okay? So I want to show you men in the Bible that committed suicide, but yet they were in heaven, yet they were saved men, okay? So suicide is not the basis of whether you're going to heaven or hell. Now to sin, suicide is murder of your own self, but it will not send you to hell. Now what I want to do, if you guys can just go to, keep your finger there, go to Hebrews chapter 11 for me, Hebrews chapter 11. And of course Hebrews chapter 11 is that chapter of the hall of faith, of great faithful men that are recorded for us in the book of Hebrews chapter 11. Now I'm going to read to you, while you're turning, I'm going to read to you from Judges 16. One of the most famous men that you're going to read about that committed suicide was Samson, okay? Samson, who was a judge over Israel, okay? And if you remember the story, he told the liar about his hair, you know, if she were to cut his hair he would lose his strength, and that indeed happened, he lost his strength, he was then captured by his enemies, they blinded him, they enslaved him, and Samson calls upon the Lord and says, look please, return that strength unto me, and then in Judges 16 verse 29 it says, And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, and one with his right hand and the other with his left, and Samson said, let me die with the Philistines. So he was there, you know, the Lord had put him, had given him this amazing strength that he would defeat the Philistines, okay? But now he's at his point where he's captured, he's enslaved, he says let me die with the Philistines, and he bowed himself with all his might, and the house fell upon the Lord and upon all the people that were therein, so the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. So you see, Samson takes revenge, you know, upon the Philistines with the power of God that's been put upon him, but by taking down that house he killed himself knowing full well that he was going to die, okay? It wasn't just an accidental death, he knew if I do this I'm going to die as well, you know, Samson committed suicide, all right? Now you guys are in Hebrews chapter 11, look at verse number 32, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 32, again, this great chapter of faithful men, and it says here, and what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Jephthah and of David also and Samuel and of the prophets. I mean we keep making this list, Hebrews chapter 11 has a list of great men, and then he goes, but I can tell you so much more about these faithful men, and he includes there Samson as a faithful man of God, okay? If it's included in Hebrews chapter 11, don't you think he's saved? He's a man of faith, he's in heaven with the Lord, of course, okay? But yet he committed suicide, okay? I'm not saying that it's good to commit suicide, I'm just saying that's what happened in his life, and he's been numbered amongst these faithful men. Now if you guys can go to 1 Samuel please, 1 Samuel chapter 28. Sorry about that, turn that off. 1 Samuel, actually 1 Samuel 31, 1 Samuel 31 verse 4, 1 Samuel 31 verse 4, because another man in the Bible committed suicide, okay? And that is King Saul, King Saul committed suicide, 1 Samuel 31 verse 4, then said Saul unto his armor bearer, now let me give you the context very quickly, Saul had gone into a war, had gone into a battle that God had not approved of, and he had been wounded, he had been injured, and he was concerned that he'd be captured, he'd be concerned that an enemy would overpower him, so he decided instead to commit suicide. Look at this, then said Saul unto his armor bearer, draw thy sword and frost me through herewith, lest these uncircumcised come and frost me through, and abuse me, but his armor bearer would not. So Saul first goes to his armor bearer, the one that would carry his weapons and say, hey you kill me, you kill me, instead of the enemies taking me as their prisoner and doing whatever they want with me, and then it says here, but his armor bearer would not, for he was sore afraid, therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it. So King Saul, what does he do? He takes a sword and he falls upon it, okay? He stabs himself and he commits suicide. Verse number 5, and when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword and died with him. So his armor bearer also commits suicide. Do you see that there? Now go to 1 Samuel 28, just a few chapters before that. 1 Samuel 28 verse 19. Now Saul was a very wicked king toward the end of his life. He had been a faithful king, he had been hand chosen by God himself to be the first king of Israel, but later toward his life, you remember how he became jealous or envious of King David, of David, and he became quite wicked, but 1 Samuel 28, so wicked that he even goes to a witch asking for assistance, right? And this is the story here that we get in 1 Samuel 28 verse 19, he goes to the witch, the witch is able, well not really by her power, but God allows Samuel to be risen from the dead in a spiritual sense and speak to Saul in 1 Samuel 28 verse 19, it says, Moreover, the Lord will also deliver, these are the words of Samuel, Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. The Lord shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. So Samuel is able to make this prophecy from the grave, and he tells Saul, look, you're going to be defeated by the Philistines, this is how God wants you to be because you've been a disobedient king, and tomorrow you and your sons are going to be with me. Now where was Samuel? You think he was in hell? No, Samuel is a saved man, he's a man of faith, he's a prophet of God, he's in heaven, and he says to Saul, even though he committed suicide, you will be with me. Okay, so we know that Saul was in heaven, we also have other passages where the Lord speaks of his prophets, you know, being saved, of course, his prophets, and if you know the story of Saul, he was actually, he prophesied, you know, he was with the prophets, he prophesied himself before he became king as well. So we have many ways to prove that King Saul was actually a saved man, alright? So please go back to Matthew 27. Don't be deceived by those that say committing suicide makes you go to hell. I mean, where are you going to read that? Where are you going to find that in the Bible? It's ridiculous, okay? It's ridiculous. So even suicide, you know, if we lose a saved brother or sister by suicide, it's a sad thing. But we can rejoice to know that they are in heaven, okay? If they were truly saved. And back to Matthew 27, verse number 6. Matthew 27, verse 6. 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 brought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in, wherefore that field was called the field of blood unto this day. Now, so what they do with the money that Judas cast on the ground, those 30 pieces of silver, they buy a piece of land, okay? And this is known as the potter's field to bury strangers in. Verse number 8. Wherefore that field is called the field of blood unto this day, then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying, Now, who's Jeremy the prophet in the Old Testament? Jeremiah, okay? Jeremiah. This is Jeremiah. 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, if you're someone like me that likes to study the Bible, whenever the Bible says something like, you know, the prophet Jeremy said this, I'd love to go back to the prophet Jeremy, to Jeremiah, and read about that, right? Now, here's the strange thing, okay? If you do that, you're not going to find it in the writings of Jeremiah, okay? This phrase, you're not going to find it in the writings of Jeremiah. You will find it in Zechariah. Not in Jeremiah, but you will find it in Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah does speak about the potter and his clay, and if you're curious about this, you can go to Jeremiah chapter 18 and 19 in your own time and see if you can figure something out there. But what was just said there in the book of Matthew is not found in the writings of Jeremiah. So, do we have an inconsistency in the Bible? Is there a contradiction, you reckon? There's never a contradiction, right? Let's read it again. What it said there in verse number 8, or verse number 9, then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, okay? Let's say what was written down by Jeremy the prophet. I mean, look, you think the writers is all they ever said in their lives, these prophets? Of course, they said many more things. Of course, God used them to prophesy, to expound the things that they spoke of, but this is an example where Jeremy spoke these things, spoke this. Zechariah also spoke these things and wrote them down, okay? But it was not written down in the writings of Jeremiah, so please never think the Bible is inconsistent or contradictive. There's always an answer, okay? God's always very careful with the way he words things, and it's never contradictive. But I'm just going to read to you. I'm going to read to you from Zechariah chapter 11, verse 12, which speaks about this potter's field a little bit. Zechariah chapter 11, verse 12, it says, And I said unto them, If you think good, give me my price, and if not forbear, for they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. So this is a proper sign of Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot is the one that said, hey, you know, give me thirty pieces of silver. The reason we know this is because of Zechariah. Judas is the one negotiating, saying, hey, is this a good price? If it's not, hey, you know, give me the thirty pieces of silver. Verse number 13, it says, And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter. So what's a potter? A potter is someone that makes pottery, right? And what do they use to make pottery? Clay. Clay normally, right? Clay. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, so this money would be ended up going to the potter, a goodly price that I was prized at of them, and I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. So, I think what's happening here, this land that was purchased, I believe that if we put all these things together, this land belongs to a potter. Somebody that made pottery. Why would he need land? Well, he needs clay. So he probably had this land, dug it up, dug out the clay from the earth, and that was his workplace, and maybe he no longer needed that land, maybe no longer, he had taken all the clay that was there, and now, you know, he sold it for a pretty cheap price, being thirty pieces of silver. So I think that's what's going on there, okay? Verse number 11, back to Matthew 27. Matthew 27, verse 11. And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Thou the king of the Jews, and Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. So he says, yep, you said it, you know, you said it. Now, Jesus does not say that, yes, I am the king of the Jews. He often says just, yep, you said it, okay? And he's being careful about this. He's not defending himself, okay? One thing you need to realize here, he's not defending himself, and the reason why is because it's his mission to die on the cross. He's not trying to find a way out, okay? He knows this was his goal, this was his purpose, and now he's going to make sure he sees it through to the end. And verse number 12, and when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing, okay? Verse 13, then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things these witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word, insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. You know, Pilate's just surprised. You know what, you're not defending yourself? Again, you know, we know this was the purpose of Jesus Christ, okay? His mission was to die on the cross, not to prevent it. His mission was of great love toward us, that he would pay for our sins. Verse number 15, Now at that feast, the governor was wont to release unto a people a prisoner whom they would. So the governor Pilate would make a tradition, you know, at the Passover, every year he would release a prisoner to the people, alright? Just to appease the people, just to show them a bit of peace, a bit of mercy, and he gets one of the worst guys that you read about in the Bible, you know, Barabbas here, verse number 16, and they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. He wasn't just your average prisoner, he was a notable prisoner. He was infamous, okay? He was known for his crimes, he was a murderer, he was someone that had caused riots. Everybody knew about this Barabbas, you know, this wicked man. So he gets Barabbas, alright, and brings him before the people, verse number 17, 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 I understand what Pilate's doing here, alright? He knows that Jesus is innocent. He knows these are false accusations about Jesus. So, you know, how am I going to release Jesus, he's wondering, right? He's saying, how can I let this man go because he's innocent. Pilate knows he's innocent. So he gets the worst scum in the prison, he gets the worst murderer, and he goes, well, surely they would not want this murderer out there. Surely they'll decide to release Jesus Christ instead. You know, that's his thinking, right? Verse number 18, For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. Verse 19, When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife said unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with this just man? For I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. We don't have too much to build on this, okay? But the wife of Pilate basically says Jesus is a just man. Again, he's innocent, he's not guilty, and she's been bothered by dreams, you know, the night before, several nights before, that they were going to deal with this man. She's like, just let him go. You know, it's going to cause us problems, and somehow I don't know where she got that revelation, if it's just a natural dream she was having, or if this was revealed to her by God, difficult to say. We don't have much more to go by that. But verse number 20, But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Okay, they said, Barabbas. Now look, the unsaved, wicked, ungodly world would rather Barabbas than Jesus Christ. Can you believe that? That's true, it's just how it is, guys. I'm sorry to tell you this, all right? We like to think that, you know, society in general, you know, is well-meaning. We like to think that they're just trying their best to live, you know, a godly life. There are wicked people out there, okay? And they would rather, the sinner, they would rather be a murderer than a preacher from God. They would rather, you know, allow people to commit all kinds of crimes than have to face the word of God and people that preach from His word. You know, one day you might find that you're hated by this world simply for being a believer, simply for standing on the word of God. We'll look at this shortly, verse number 22. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all said unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why? What evil have you done? But they cried out them all, saying, Let him be crucified. Now keep your finger there, go to John chapter 15, please. John chapter 15. It's difficult to understand this, right? Crucify the innocent man, release the murderer. Wow. John 15, verse 18. John 15, verse 18. If the world hates you, these are words of Jesus, to us, right, to His believers, if the world hates you, you know that He hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. The world's gonna hate you if you stand for the word of God. Now if you don't stand for God's word, if you keep your faith a secret, you know, you don't tell anyone, you just go the flow, the world's not gonna hate you, okay? That's a decision you're gonna have to make in your life. All right? Sometimes you just, you might decide, I'm gonna be quiet, I'm not gonna face it. Well, I mean, it's a sad thing, you know, people are weak. We even saw Peter in the previous chapter denying Christ because he didn't want to be persecuted, he didn't want to face the hatred of this world. But what's unusual about this is that people that preach the word of God without compromise, okay, we preach the word of God, we preach about sin, we preach about hell, today, the world says you're a hate preacher. They say you have hate. And yes, there is some hate, okay? Because I hate the things that God hates. I love the things that God loves. I don't have a problem with being called a hate preacher, as long as you also call me a love preacher because we're trying to get people saved as well, all right? But here's the thing, it's the world that hates Christ, it's the world that hates believers, but they don't call themselves hate preachers, all right? They're so deceived, they don't even know. They think, oh, we're all about hatred, yet they're the ones that hate the Lord God, the creator of all things. I'm happy to be called a hate preacher, if that's what they want to call me, as long as I'm aligned with the things that God hates, okay? Love the things that God loves, hate the things that God hates, and if you can do that, you're balanced, you're in line with what God wants in your life. Go back to Matthew 27, verse 24. Matthew 27, verse 24. 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, look how guilty he is, he washes his hands before the multitude, saying, I'm innocent of the blood of this just person, see to it. So basically, okay, take him away, let him be crucified. But he washes his hands, he thinks by washing his hands, he's gonna be clean from the innocent blood that's been shed there. And I think Pilate's just a great example of politicians. All right, politicians, all right? Now, politicians generally, they know what's right, okay, but they're often just going to cave in with what the multitudes want. They're gonna cave in to the desire of the people, okay? Look, at the end of the day, guys, politicians just wanna get paid their big checks, they just wanna be re-elected, they just wanna be seen as good, faithful men to the world, and they're just, they're not gonna stand on the word of God, okay? I mean, look, if you had a politician today in Australia that stood for the Bible, that stood for the word of God, that stood for the judgments of God, you think they're gonna be elected? No way, they'll be hated, they'll be hated, just like, you know, the preachers of the word of God are hated, okay? But look, this is just the example, you know, there's nothing wrong with government, please don't misunderstand me. God instituted government to punish evildoers. That's the purpose of government, to punish the wicked, okay? And also to have an army in case of self-defense, if a foreign nation wants to, you know, destroy or attack Australia, it's the government's job to also organize a self-defense force, okay? And to punish evildoers. But it's not the government's job to run schools, it's not the government's job to run churches, it's not the government's job to force you to vaccinate your children, okay? It's not the government's job to do any of these things to get you involved in your day-to-day life, okay? But it is the government's job to do the things that I mentioned, please don't understand me, I'm all for government, but here's the thing, the politicians, they stretch beyond the boundaries that God has given them in the word of God, okay? And that's why they're always like that, right? They're just, which way is the wind blowing? Which way is the wind blowing? And whichever way the wind's blowing is the way they, you know, stand, you know, or, you know, build their policies upon. You know, we have two major parties in Australia, you know, Liberal and Labor, and historically, it's been the Labor Party that's been pushing for the rights of homosexuals, it's been the Labor Party that historically has pushed for the rights of homosexuals to be, to get married, but which government brought it into, made it legal? It was the Liberals, okay? It was the Liberal Party that made homosexuality, sorry, marriage, you know, allowed marriage between homosexual couples, all right? It's the same thing, guys. It's the world, they're not with the Bible. You think you're choosing one over the other? They're going for the same thing. It's Satan that's pulling the strings behind the scenes, all right? I guess maybe Labor would've put it in five years earlier, but the Liberal Party was gonna do it anyway, okay? What's gonna happen? They told you they didn't want it, but they did it anyway. Why? Because that's what the people wanted, okay? That's government, that's Pilate. Pilate's the best example of your politicians today. Anyway, back to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27, verse 25. Then answered all the people, these are all the Jews, all the unbelieving Jews and the chief priests and all these things, and said, his blood be on us and on our children. All right, Pilate, you wanna be innocent? We'll take responsibility for the blood of Christ. What a sad thing, all right? Now, some people have said that this is the reason why the Jews today still reject Christ, because these people said that his blood be on us and on our children. Now, I don't believe that's a correct teaching, okay? I'll just quickly read to you from Ezekiel 18, verse 20. It says, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Look at this. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. The Bible's very clear that God holds us accountable for our own sins, okay? If my father commits a grave sin, I'm not responsible for that. I'm not accountable for that. Punishing me does not create any justice. Or if I'm now that I'm a mature adult, if I commit some grave sin, it's not something that ought to be put on upon my father. Everybody's accountable for their own sins. So the fact that these unbelieving Jews says let his blood be upon us, yes, it's upon them. They reject Christ, they're damned, but the fact that they put it upon their children does not mean that the Lord God carries that out upon their children, on their children, okay? The Lord God makes sure that everybody's accountable for their own sins. Now, in saying that, in saying that, the consequences of your sins can carry through to the third and fourth generation the Bible speaks about, okay? I mean, you commit some major sin in your life, you can destroy future generations because of the mistakes you made, the consequences of your sins, all right? But nevertheless, God still holds everybody accountable for their own sins, okay? If your father, your mother have committed some grave sin, you're not responsible. God's not going to hold you accountable for the sins of your fathers, all right? Matthew, I just wanted to cover that because some people think that applies to Jews today. I don't believe that at all, okay? Why Jews reject Christ, yeah, because they've got a false religion, okay? Just like every other, you know, people have their own pagan false religions and their false gods, yeah. Of course, if you believe in those gods, you are going to reject Jesus Christ. But Matthew 27 verse 26, Matthew 27 verse 26, Matthew 27 verse 26, Now, the Bible speaks about these things very generally, okay? He got whipped, he got beat, and a crown of thorns upon his head that he got spat upon. I'll just show you exactly how violent all this was. You'll soon see in the book of Psalms just how violent the beatings that Jesus Christ took, the whipping, just how bad it was upon his body. But let's keep reading, verse number 32, And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross. So this other man took the cross. I suppose Jesus was too weak to carry the cross himself. Verse 33, And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say a place of a skull. So Golgotha means a place of the skull, okay? And apparently, I didn't fact check this, so I'm sorry if I'm incorrect about this, but apparently there is a hill outside of the city of Jerusalem that looks like a skull to some extent, okay? Now it's deteriorated, probably doesn't look like a skull as much as it did back then, but that's apparently the traditional teaching that that was a place that Jesus Christ was crucified. Verse 34, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gold, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him and parted his garments, casting lots that he 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 they watched him there. So back then, back in these days, they didn't have machines to make clothing, and now you've got machines, they're pumping out pieces of clothing, that's why clothes are so cheap these days. Back then, if you had nice clothes, it was expensive, and so they're parting lines, they're trying to work out, hey, who's going to take this piece of clothing off Jesus Christ, the soldiers here? But notice there in verse number 35, it said that he might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet. Now let's go to see where it was spoken by the prophet. Take your Bibles and go to Psalm 22. Psalm 22, verse 18. Psalm 22, verse 18. Psalm 22, verse 18. Look at this. It says, they part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. So you can see these are words of Jesus Christ, okay? Now these are the words of the psalmist, but of course this is a prophecy of Christ. Now, what I want you to do here, you can see this is clearly about Christ, let's drop down to verse number 14 of the same psalm. Psalm 22, verse 14. Look what it says here. This gives you an idea of the kind of suffering Jesus Christ faced even before he was crucified, or as he was being crucified. It says there in verse number 14, he goes, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. Now, the Bible's very clear that Jesus, none of Jesus' bones were broken, okay? That was a prophecy as well. But notice that all his bones are out of joint. His bones are all dislocated. Have you ever seen somebody have a dislocated arm or something? They look weird, okay? And the Bible also speaks about how Jesus was more than any man, you know? And he did not look like a natural man by the time he was crucified on the cross. He had dislocated bones all over his body by the way he was beaten and whipped and all these kinds of things. It says here, my heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of my bowels. Look at this, my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws, and thou hast brought me into the dust of earth. For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. Of course, that's about Jesus Christ. I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me. So Jesus is able to look at himself and just sees all these bones sticking out of him, okay? All these bones had been dislocated from his body, let alone the blood shed, let alone the blood that's been poured on his head, let alone the crucifixion, his bare back on that wooden cross. I mean, this man suffered great things for us. I don't know what this, it gives me shivers just reading about that. I don't like looking at people when they get dislocated parts of their body. I mean, he would have been quite a sight there on the cross, okay? Back to Matthew 27 verse 37. Matthew 27 verse 37. I hope that helps you appreciate the suffering that Christ had. You know, like I said, the gospel is kind of just, tell us a little bit about it, we don't really get to see much graphic, but yeah, there in Psalm 22, we get the graphic nature of his suffering. Verse 37, Matthew 27 verse 37. And set up over his head his accusation written, this is Jesus the King of the Jews. Then there were two thieves crucified with him, one of the right hand and the other on the left. Now you guys are probably familiar with the story of the thief on the cross that believed on Christ, right? He got saved. But here's the thing, both thieves actually accused or hated Jesus Christ. Look at verse number 39. And they that passed by... So we'll keep reading. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads. So to revile him is to basically mock him, okay? People were out there mocking Jesus Christ on the cross. Verse number 40. We'll look at the thief on the cross in a minute. And saying, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. This is the first time we get the phrase Son of God in this chapter. And the question is, there's doubt. If thou be the Son of God, there's doubt. Are you really the Son of God? Because if you're the Son of God, you shouldn't be able to come down from the cross. They're mocking him, right? They're mocking him. But also notice... Let's keep reading, let's keep reading. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, and 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. He says, man, if this guy's able to get down from the cross from the position he's in, we'll finally believe him. So contrary to the gospel message. What is the gospel? The death, burial, and resurrection. Okay? And it's amazing how they say, hey, that he can save others, but he's not going to save himself. Look, the reason why Christ can save others is because he didn't save himself. He died for us. He died for us so we may be saved by his death and by his resurrection. These guys are contrary. I don't know how much they know this, but they're so contrary to the Bible. They're saying, hey, don't die. Save yourself. All right? But no, that's why he came. That's why he came. He came to die. Right? And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 17, and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye that are yet in your sins. Okay? Jesus Christ had to die, had to be resurrected, or else our faith would be in vain. We would still be in our sins. Okay? Look at verse number 43. He trusted in God. This is what they're saying about Jesus. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if he will have him, for he said, I am the Son of God. There's another reference there of the Son of God. At first they're doubting. Are you really the Son of God? Now they're saying Jesus said he said that he is the Son of God. All right? Now this quote here in verse number 43, I should have told you to say in Psalm 22. If you guys can go back to Psalm 22. That's where we're reading about the bones of Jesus Christ being dislocated. Psalm 22, verse 7. Psalm 22, verse 7. The same psalm about Christ. These are the words they spoke. Again, these words were prophesied by the prophet. They were prophesied by the psalmist. Verse number 7. It says here, And they that see me, this is Jesus Christ speaking, they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot at the lip. They shake their heads saying, look at this, he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. You see how even these guys that hate Christ, that revile Christ, that speak against Christ, they're fulfilling prophecy. It's really sad. These things that they're saying has already been known by the Lord God. All right? This isn't some accident that Jesus Christ died on the cross. This was prophesied. God told us exactly what's going to happen before it happened. Okay? Reinforcing the fact that Jesus Christ is our Savior. It was prophesied. None of this is an accident. None of this is plan B. It's always been plan A, the salvation of the world, back to Matthew 27, verse 44. Look at this. The thieves, plural, the thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. So these thieves, plural, were also mocking Christ. Okay? Both of them. And that's what's amazing, that even though these two thieves were doing it, they were crucified on the cross, one of them came to his senses and eventually believed on Jesus Christ. We don't read about that in this Gospel, but we do read about the thief in the Book of Luke. Now it says there in verse number 45, Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. Just to help you with the timing there, the beginning of the day, not of the days in the 24-hour day, but the day of sunlight, was 6 a.m. according to, you know, basically the Jews. Okay? 6 a.m. So when it says there, now from the sixth hour, you've got to add six more hours to 6 a.m. So what are you left with? What do you come to? 12 p.m., right? 12 p.m., six hours later. So from, let's say 12 p.m., there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. So what would that be? 3 p.m. Yeah, 3 p.m. So from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., there was just darkness all over the world. Okay, there? Or at least where Jesus Christ was. Verse number 46. And 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? I mean, this is probably one of the worst things. We know about his sacrifice. We know about his beatings and his crucifixion. We know that he's taken on the sins upon in his body. Sin was condemned in the flesh, the Bible tells us, but now the Lord God, the Father, had forsaken the Son. Okay, forsaken the Son of God. And it's interesting that Jesus Christ speaks and he says, you know, Eli, Eli, and these are, you know, that talks, that says my God, my God. Okay, but some believe, some thought, look at verse number seven, they thought that by saying Eli, that he's calling upon Elijah. Okay, it's a bit strange, but verse number 47. Some of them that stood there when they heard that said, this man called for Elias. And straightaway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink. The rest said, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake and the rocks rent. So as Jesus Christ died, I mean, not only is there darkness all over the place there, but there's an earthquake when Christ dies and the rocks rent. I mean, these rocks are broken open by his death. And notice also the veil in the temple. So in the temple of Jerusalem, there was a veil, so when the priest would come and offer sacrifices, there was one place called the Holy of Holies that they would only enter in once a year, okay? And they would have to go through this veil to go into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was and there, you know, sprinkle the blood once every year. That veil was now rents. That veil had opened up at the death of Jesus Christ. Now, you don't need to turn there. I'll just quickly read to you because we've got a lot of things to go through here, but Hebrews chapter 10 verse 18, that veil represents something, okay? That veil was a type of something in the New Testament, okay? In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 18, it says, Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Okay, so we know the offering of sin in the Old Testament with the blood of bulls and goats, but there'll be no more. It says there in verse number 19, Have been therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which have consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, okay? So the veil that was split in two represented the flesh, the body of Jesus Christ, okay? And we can enter into the Holy of Holies, that being the throne of God. We can come before the Lord because of the broken body of Christ. We don't need that veil. That veil just represented who Jesus Christ was and his sacrifice and the shedding of his blood and that allows us to have access and fellowship with the Lord God, all right? Back to Matthew 27 verse 52, and now this is one of the greatest mysteries in the Bible. I'm sorry if I don't give you a perfect answer here. Nobody knows the answer to this, all right? I'm just telling you now, all right? But look at verse number 52, 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. So at Christ's death and his resurrection, I suppose these graves are opened, these saints come back to life, they go into the Holy City, Jerusalem, and they appear unto many. And that's one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible. What is this about? Now, keep your finger there and go to 1 Corinthians 15, please. 1 Corinthians 15. What I will do, I can't give you a perfect answer, but I can debunk a false teaching about this, okay? And that false teaching is basically that this was the resurrection of the Old Testament saints. Now, you know we're going to be raptured one day, all right? We're going to have our own resurrection. And they'll say, well, the resurrection we're going to experience is a resurrection for the New Testament saints, and they'll say that the Old Testament saints were resurrected at this resurrection here. Okay? Now, I'll show you why that's false. Go to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20. It says, But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead, for as in Adam all die, even so Christ shall be made alive. Look at this, verse 23. But every man in his own order. Hey, there is an order to the resurrection, okay? What's the order? Number one, Christ the firstfruits. So Christ is the first who is resurrected from the dead. Now let me pause there for a moment. Do we have stories of people in the Bible that were resurrected from the dead before Christ? We do. We have Lazarus, all right? We have the widow's son that was resurrected. We have the 12-year-old girl. I think it was, was it Jairus? Jairus' daughter from the Bible. Jesus Christ rose people from the dead. Even the Old Testament saying some of them rose people from the dead, all right? But here's the difference between Christ's resurrection and the resurrection that have come before him. The ones that were resurrected before Christ were resurrected in their natural fallen body, okay? Meaning that they died again one day, okay? They didn't rise from the dead and they're still walking the earth today. No, they died again, okay? Whereas the resurrection of Christ is in the new resurrected glorified body, okay? The one that is without any, if we're resurrected by that resurrection, then we're going to be given those uncorrupted bodies, okay? Perfect, undefiled, sinless bodies. That's not what Lazarus had. That's not what the widow's son had. No, they were resurrected in their natural bodies, not in their new resurrected bodies, which are sinless. No, okay? So this order that we're speaking about is about the new resurrected body, all right? It said there in verse number 23, But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, look at this, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. What is his coming? The rapture, the rapture, okay? So it's very clear. This resurrected body, first it's Christ, then at his coming. Has Jesus Christ come back here? No. Okay, so the resurrection that we saw in Matthew 27 is that the resurrection of the new glorified bodies? No, okay? Obviously, these Old Testament saints that were resurrected were resurrected in their natural bodies. Obviously, these bodies then died again, okay? Now, what happened to these people? What were they doing? I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine, okay? But, you know, I had to, you know, it's quite easy to debunk the false teaching that this was the resurrection of the Old Testament saints. I mean, that would be a lot of people that would have to be resurrected if it was all the Old Testament saints, but anyway, let's go back to Matthew 27. Matthew 27. Oh, and another reason, it debunks that argument itself in verse number 52 because it says, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. So it's not all the Old Testament saints that were resurrected, right? It just says many. So a lot of them did, but not all of them. Anyway, verse number 54. Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly, this was the Son of God. And that's the title of the sermon, the Son of God. Now notice this, okay? If you look back at verse number 40, look at verse number 40, the three phrases, the three times, this chapter refers to the Son of God. Matthew 27, verse 40, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself, if thou be the Son of God, verse, we begin with the doubts. You know, if you are the Son of God, mockingly, you know, speaking of Christ, look at verse number 43, verse number 43, He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the Son of God. So we go from doubting to Jesus Christ, affirming that he is the Son of God, and we get to now the centurion in verse 54, truly, this was the Son of God. I personally believe the centurion and the soldiers that are saying this were saved. Okay, why? Because 1 John 5, 4 says, For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. Hey, the centurion and the soldiers believe, this is truly, this is the Son of God. They place their faith on Jesus Christ. I believe these events are things that unfolded to them, cause them to place their faith on Christ. Okay, the fact that they can say, we've, you know, you know, verify the fact that this was the Son of God. Verse number 55, Matthew 27, verse 55, And many women that were beholding are far 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. And by the way, let me just point this out in verse number 55. One thing that you might not notice as you go through the story of Christ, as he's doing his ministry, often Christ is dealing with his disciples and they're the men, right? Jesus Christ, you know, ministry, full-time ministry, being a preacher, being a leader in the work of God, that's a role given to men, okay? And you won't often read about the women, but there were many women that were there in the ministry of Christ. There were many women that were following as disciples of Christ, you know, following everywhere he went. And this gives us a little snapshot of what they were doing, because it says in verse 55, and many women, all right, were beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him. So these women were assisting Jesus Christ in his ministry. They were assisting the apostles, the disciples in the ministry, okay? They were there, you know, making sure they had the resources. I'm sure they were there cooking the food. I'm sure they were there, you know, making sure they had what they needed in order for them to go out and do the works and the preaching that God had given them to do. And I just bring that to your attention because, you know, we read a lot about the men in the Bible, okay? But honestly, men, we can only do the works that God has given us, you know, if we have the ladies as well helping us out, you know? It's important for pastors to have a godly, faithful wife. You know, I couldn't do the things that I do unless I had, you know, a wife that was supporting me all the way through, okay? Verse number 56, it's given us the names of these women, among which were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee's children. Even, sorry, when the even was come, there was a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph who also himself was Jesus' disciple. He 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 a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own tomb and had hewn, which he had hewn out in the rock and he rode a great stone to the door of the sepulcher and departed. I mean, this is a great picture that Joseph had taken the body of Christ and put it in his own tomb. And I think this is symbolic of the fact that, you know, Joseph being a disciple of Christ, that he would not die symbolically, okay? But rather Jesus Christ is the one that took his place and was laid there in his tomb, okay? Jesus Christ died so we don't have to die. We will live forever as long as our faith is placed on him. Now, verse number 61. And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 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. Now notice what these chief priests say to Pilate in verse number 63 saying, Sir, we remember that the deceiver said, so they're calling Jesus a deceiver, while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. I don't know if that surprised you, but these chief priests are saying that Jesus said in three days he will rise again from the dead, okay? Now why is that relevant? Well, let's keep reading. Verse 64. Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his 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. You guys, man, if they come out, they steal the body of Jesus. They say he did rise from the dead because his body's not here. He's saying he did rise from the dead because the body's not here. He said it's going to be worse, okay? The error's going to be worse. That's the best part of our gospel. The best part is his resurrection, okay? That's so contrary to Jesus Christ and the gospel, but the reason I wanted to show you how they knew that Jesus was talking about his own body, about being risen from the dead, I just want you to go back one chapter. Go back to Matthew 26. Matthew 26, verse 59. It's clear here, right guys, that they know that Jesus said he will rise from the dead. Okay, it's clear. But look at Matthew 26, verse 59. This is when they had arrested Jesus Christ. Now the chief priests and the elders and all the council, so the same people, the chief priests, sought false witness against Jesus to put him to death, right? But found none. They couldn't find a reason. Yea, though many false witnesses came, they found yet none, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, look at this, and said, this fellow said, this, you know, Jesus, that I am able to destroy the temple of God and build it in three days. Alright? So they know that Jesus Christ, when he said those words, they know that he was speaking of his body. They know he was speaking about his resurrection. But in order to arrest him, in order to find some fault in him, they say, well, when he said those words, he was speaking about the temple in Jerusalem. You see how deceived, how, you know, how much of false, you know, teachers they are and how deceptive they are? They knew what Jesus Christ said, but they twisted it to make it, you know, sound like it was something that Jesus had not said. And again, guys, just be careful. These are chief rulers. These are religious leaders. Okay? Be careful about the religious leaders you listen to. Be careful about the people that you listen and you go to churches to. You know, there are wolves in sheep's clothing. They'll take what Jesus said. They'll take these words. They'll preach these words, but they'll twist it just a little bit. They'll twist it just a little bit and teach you something false. They'll deceive you They'll deceive you with the word of God. All right? They'll deceive you with the word of God. Just like these guys had taken the words of Jesus, had made a little change in it and said, well, see, he said he's going to destroy, you know, the temple in Jerusalem, but they knew full well he was talking about his own body. All right? It's amazing how they say, so the last era shall be worse than the first. Now praise God that, you know, the resurrection is the gospel. Praise God for that, that we worship a God who's living. Okay? A God that we can have a relationship with. We can talk with him. We can walk with him. He speaks to us through his word. We can go to him in prayer. Verse number 65, Pilate said unto them, ye have a watch, go your way, make it sure as you can. So he says, you have a watch, he's sending soldiers like to watch. Okay? So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch. So they seal it and make sure they cannot be opened and they set some guards to watch over the tomb there and then, thanks for your patience guys. There's a lot in that chapter. We'll leave it there guys. Let's just pray. Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for this great chapter and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Lord, help us to be people that never take it for granted what you did for us that we will take time to reflect upon the sacrifice of Christ and his suffering and how it was beaten so severely, Lord, for our sakes. Lord, thank you for salvation. Thank you that it's a free gift and, Lord, yeah, just, Lord, it's not just salvation that you give us, Lord, but you give us a home. You give us, the Heavenly Father becomes our Father. We become your children. You've given us mansions in heaven, Lord. You've given us, you've promised us rewards for the service that we do. You tell us about the new heavens and the new earth, Lord, and the inheritance that you've given us, Lord, with the mansions in heaven, all the great things that you've promised us, Lord, not just salvation, but, Lord, you've given us the inheritance through Jesus Christ and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. All right. God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause us faith to shine upon us yet that way may be known upon earth by saving health Cause a space to shine upon us, Yet that way may be known upon earth, By standing up among all nations, Let the people praise thee, O God! Let all the people praise thee, O let the nations be glad, And sing for joy!