WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.179 Amen. So I want us to get straight into it to see the sights and hear the sounds of the cross. 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:24.179 ! We see the abuse of the Gentiles, the Roman soldiers in verses 27 to 36. 00:00:24.179 --> 00:00:28.440 ! And you don't expect more from them in many ways. 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:35.640 But there's also the abuse from Israel. That is the tragedy, I think, of this abuse. 00:00:36.820 --> 00:00:45.760 In verses 39 to 44, it comes from places out of mouths that you would hope would know better or would see differently. 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:55.480 That is the leaders of Israel, the chief priests and the senior pastors, the theologians and the lay leaders, the elders. 00:00:55.479 --> 00:01:00.259 And even the passers-by hurl abuse at Jesus. 00:01:01.579 --> 00:01:09.780 And surely the descendants of the covenant people of God, if anyone, would know and recognize that Jesus, who he is. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:10.620 But they don't. 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:19.800 In fact, the Jews at this time, by and large, could see nothing in a suffering saviour. 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:26.899 For them, the proof that Jesus was not the Messiah was the fact that he was being nailed to the cross. 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:31.819 No one could be suffering like that and yet still be the Messiah. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.939 It was completely incongruous to them. 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:37.679 They couldn't believe in a suffering Messiah. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:42.299 It's a little bit like putting water on cornflakes. 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:44.759 You'd never do that, would you? 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.939 You put milk on cornflakes. 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:53.519 You might put yoghurt on your cornflakes if you're odd. 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:56.939 Some people put sugar on their cornflakes. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.519 Other people might like to eat them dry a handful out of the box. 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.659 But you never hear of someone. 00:02:02.739 --> 00:02:06.500 You'd never hear of someone putting water on cornflakes. 00:02:06.539 --> 00:02:07.459 You don't hear that, do you? 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:12.879 And if you are the Messiah, in the Jewish mind, you don't suffer. 00:02:13.519 --> 00:02:14.639 You just don't suffer like that. 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:16.060 It's a contradiction in terms. 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:18.439 What a tragedy. 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:19.639 What blindness. 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:23.959 The professing people of God, Israel's leaders, didn't see it. 00:02:26.079 --> 00:02:32.400 And in all of your religion, you will never see Jesus rightly until God opens your eyes to see that it is right. 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:37.039 But there's also truth in this abuse. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:38.000 I don't know whether you noticed that. 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:38.819 Look at verse 42. 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:41.699 And this is part of the tragedy. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:43.400 They didn't speak to Jesus. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:44.919 They spoke about him. 00:02:45.959 --> 00:02:47.479 It's as if he was absent. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:50.780 And they talked about him to one another. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:52.739 And they said he saved others. 00:02:52.739 --> 00:02:54.879 He cannot save himself. 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:01.060 And even in the abuse that they throw at him, they speak the truth about him. 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:07.379 It's interesting that the kind of mouth that God can use to be proclaimers of truth. 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:09.599 They were right, weren't they? 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:12.719 He saved others. 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:14.620 He cannot save himself. 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:20.740 And if he is going to be the savior of others, of us, he cannot save himself. 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:26.280 And if he's going to be the savior, he dare not save himself. 00:03:27.420 --> 00:03:29.340 But there's also temptation in the abuse. 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:30.420 You see that in verse 43. 00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:36.480 When they said, I wonder if they were conscious of the fact that they're actually taking up the words of Psalm 22. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:40.780 They said, he put his confidence in God. 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:43.539 Let God deliver him now if he wants. 00:03:45.339 --> 00:03:48.780 And that must have been like a knife through Jesus' stomach. 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:52.560 Let him deliver him if he wants. 00:03:54.239 --> 00:03:56.780 There's no more subtle temptation than that. 00:03:56.839 --> 00:03:59.839 And it's one that we, the people of God, know that. 00:04:01.239 --> 00:04:04.719 It's the temptation of David in Psalm 3 in verse 2. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:09.359 He's running away from Absalom who's revolted and rebelled against him. 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:14.120 And David is recounting his experience to God in prayer. 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:16.480 And he says, they are saying about me. 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:18.319 Many are saying about me. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.680 There is no help for him in God. 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:23.240 What do they mean? 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:26.319 Do they mean that God is not able to help him? 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:27.939 No, that's not what they meant. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:32.300 They meant there's no help for him in God. 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:36.759 That is, God won't help a character like him. 00:04:37.900 --> 00:04:39.100 He doesn't deserve it. 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:45.699 There's nothing more subtle, nothing more grievous than when that temptation grips you. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:48.879 You might even bring it up to yourself. 00:04:50.139 --> 00:04:53.560 God is not going to deliver me from the situation I am in. 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:55.019 I don't deserve it. 00:04:55.019 --> 00:05:02.359 And you know, don't you, the problem with that kind of temptation is there's an element of truth in it, isn't there? 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:05.060 It's usually true. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:08.099 It's not, I don't deserve the least of God's mercies. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:10.439 Even as a believer, I don't deserve them. 00:05:11.659 --> 00:05:15.599 And so if I want to be strict about it, when this temptation comes to me, 00:05:16.159 --> 00:05:18.219 I have to agree that it's true. 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:21.680 Why should God want me? 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.180 Why should God give me any deliverance? 00:05:28.300 --> 00:05:31.640 And that is part of believing experience. 00:05:33.020 --> 00:05:35.860 And you may begin to whisper to yourself, 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:40.460 God wants no part with the likes of me, with someone like me. 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:49.539 And it's at this point, I think, that it's very helpful to remember and to remind ourselves that our Savior faced that same temptation. 00:05:51.159 --> 00:05:54.500 Let God deliver him if he wants him. 00:05:55.479 --> 00:06:00.519 He really was tempted in every respect, just as we are. 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:11.339 But if you keep your ears and eyes open at the cross, you secondly see the anguish of the cross, the abuse of the cross, and then the anguish of the cross. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:14.799 And you see that especially in verse 46. 00:06:16.579 --> 00:06:20.299 And these are words that we cannot fully understand. 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:27.399 But in verses 45 to 49, and especially verse 46, you see the anguish. 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:32.839 You hear Jesus cry, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.500 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:06:37.919 --> 00:06:40.560 And the one thing that we must not do is we must not tone that down. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:45.799 We mustn't say Jesus didn't really know what he was talking about. 00:06:45.899 --> 00:06:48.659 And he just felt forsaken of God. 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:49.979 That's not what he said. 00:06:51.739 --> 00:06:54.319 You need to take Jesus soberly here. 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:57.040 When he expresses his anguish. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:06:59.659 Do you see the two responses? 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:00.759 There's two reactions. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:02.339 There's the reaction of heaven, isn't there? 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.860 Because there was darkness for those three hours. 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:12.819 You might say it's almost as if there is something of the sympathy of heaven. 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:18.300 Yes, there was darkness in the plague before the judgment on the sun. 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:19.480 Of course it's speaking of that. 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:20.879 But I think there's more than that. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:30.540 There is the sympathy of heaven with the sufferer on earth in his anguish and in his abandonment. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:40.240 In some way, some mysterious way, the father, as his son is going through all this, 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:43.400 it is like heaven sympathizes with his suffering. 00:07:44.900 --> 00:07:49.680 And causes darkness to blacken over the earth. 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:54.040 And you have the opposite reaction in verses 47 to 49. 00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:54.740 Look there. 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:56.720 Where it says, 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:14.980 There's a deliberate twist there. 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:16.620 I think there's deliberate contempt. 00:08:17.180 --> 00:08:18.840 Maybe he's calling Elijah, they say. 00:08:19.960 --> 00:08:22.420 Let's give him a little something to perk him up. 00:08:23.200 --> 00:08:25.960 And see if we can get a little bit more life out of him. 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:26.959 And then others say, 00:08:27.039 --> 00:08:27.779 Well, let's stand back. 00:08:27.859 --> 00:08:29.659 Let's see if Elijah comes and rescues him. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:30.719 It's mere mockery. 00:08:33.819 --> 00:08:37.799 Some people can look, can't they, on the most sacred things and desecrate them. 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.139 What do you make of this anguish? 00:08:41.539 --> 00:08:42.240 Verse 46. 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:45.939 We can't plumb the depths of it. 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:55.000 But it seems as if it is saying, isn't it, that because Jesus is bearing the sins of his people, 00:08:55.520 --> 00:09:01.920 that Jesus is enduring the just judgment of God that our sin deserved, 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:05.620 because he took his people's sins on himself, 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:10.679 in that judgment, God, in some mysterious way, 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:17.539 Jesus experiences what it is to be forsaken by the love of his Father. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:21.819 Oh, what a depth there is. 00:09:22.079 --> 00:09:24.179 God forsaken by God. 00:09:24.219 --> 00:09:25.980 Who can understand it, Martin Luther said. 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:26.819 But it is for real. 00:09:29.719 --> 00:09:30.259 Verse 46. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:31.199 You know this, don't you? 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:37.819 That every time that Jesus refers to God in Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the Synoptic Gospels, 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:39.419 he refers to God as Father. 00:09:39.579 --> 00:09:40.159 My Father. 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:41.699 Our Father in Heaven. 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:45.680 This is the only time he doesn't. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:47.840 Isn't that significant? 00:09:49.640 --> 00:09:53.180 It's significant because a change in terminology matters. 00:09:55.620 --> 00:10:00.480 Let's think of a child who's been fostered in a family and then is adopted, 00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:06.640 and they've known the adults in that home by their first names all the way through the process. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:12.779 They've been placed in that family and they've known the adults in that home by their first names. 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:14.699 But there comes a moment, doesn't there? 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:23.179 There comes a moment when for the first time that child calls those adults mum or dad. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.840 And relational terms matter. 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:34.860 And Jesus doesn't call God Father here because in some sense, some mysterious way, 00:10:35.800 --> 00:10:43.480 he is cut off from that intimate fellowship with his Father as he bears his people's sin. 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:50.500 And yet, though there's a degree of suffering that Jesus went through, 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:55.299 and I know that our sufferings and our anguish, 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:59.559 they will never ever compare with what Jesus went through on the cross. 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:03.000 Yet, nevertheless, I want to say there's great help for you and I here today. 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:08.960 You see, can you notice that even in the midst of the cross, 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:14.399 Jesus clings to an unchanging fact? 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.559 Can you just notice with me how he addresses God? 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:22.159 He calls him my God. 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:26.559 My God, why have you forsaken me? 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:33.239 Even in his forsakenness, he still calls God my God. 00:11:35.319 --> 00:11:38.399 My God, when God's son is in the pit, 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:43.459 he still senses, doesn't he, that in some way God still holds him. 00:11:44.599 --> 00:11:46.379 He is still his God. 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:49.980 He can still say, my God. 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:52.279 My God. 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.600 And if you are a child of God this morning, 00:11:57.100 --> 00:11:59.320 if you are part of his people, 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:03.100 you will never be forsaken in the way that Jesus was forsaken. 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:10.800 Because Jesus was forsaken so that you might never be forsaken by God. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:18.500 God forsook his son so that he would not have to forsake his people. 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:24.820 But you and I, if you've been Christian for any length of time, 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.940 you will know that there are very dark times in the Christian life, aren't there? 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:30.519 There are difficult times. 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:37.360 There are times of darkness when the light of God's presence seems to be withheld from you. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:42.600 Maybe it's some trial, some suffering, it's some affliction. 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:46.139 Perhaps it just comes upon you, 00:12:46.300 --> 00:12:49.440 and it doesn't always have to be some unconfessed sin, 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:51.500 which you're aware of. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:54.180 It may be that you've sought forgiveness, 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:58.320 and yet this darkness is still there. 00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:01.180 And you somehow wonder, 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:02.759 has God kind of let me go? 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:04.279 Has God passed me off? 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:05.300 What can you do? 00:13:05.300 --> 00:13:05.759 What can you do? 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:11.300 Well, one thing that you can do is to realize that even in that time, 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:14.720 just as with Jesus, 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:16.800 when God seems to have cast you off, 00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:17.340 what do you do? 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:18.960 You do what Jesus did. 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:20.100 You go on crying. 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:25.139 You go on crying to the God who has cast you off, 00:13:25.180 --> 00:13:26.820 and you still go on calling him, 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:28.000 my God, 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:29.680 my God. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.300 And even when he seems to cast me down, 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:34.920 even when I can't see it, 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.019 he is still the God who holds me, 00:13:38.219 --> 00:13:38.559 nevertheless. 00:13:39.939 --> 00:13:40.599 Job says, 00:13:40.699 --> 00:13:42.179 though he slay me, 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:44.079 yet will I trust him. 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:47.679 He is still the God who holds me. 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:49.979 His right hand upholds me. 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:53.500 And then I think here, 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:55.100 in the anguish of the cross, 00:13:55.560 --> 00:13:57.200 you and I can see our deepest need. 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:00.860 Do you notice that Jesus cried with a loud voice, 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:01.879 and when he made his cry, 00:14:03.920 --> 00:14:06.740 that word cry is used in the Old Testament. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.620 The Old Testament companion is a verb, 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:13.679 which means to cry out from deliverance, 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:15.659 for deliverance from your oppressors, 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:16.840 from your enemies. 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:18.799 It's the word cry out, 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:20.840 so that you will be delivered from oppression. 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:24.159 But I want you to notice here, 00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:25.759 that as Jesus cries out, 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:27.700 he is not crying out for deliverance 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:29.740 from his enemies. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.120 He's not asking for God's justice on his enemies. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.019 He is crying out for God himself. 00:14:36.019 --> 00:14:40.139 It's not some kind of deliverance 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:40.939 that he's crying out for. 00:14:41.059 --> 00:14:42.039 What is he crying out for? 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:43.379 He's crying out for God. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:45.559 For God. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.819 He cries out to God, for God. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:52.319 And what he's so concerned about 00:14:52.319 --> 00:14:54.039 is that God has forsaken him, 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:56.159 so he cries to God, 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:58.039 wanting God himself. 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:03.519 And isn't that a glimpse of our truest need? 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:07.419 Isn't it true that when you cut through 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:09.139 all the desires, 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:10.319 and all the requests, 00:15:10.439 --> 00:15:12.220 and all the needs that we feel, 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.799 it's not really God's gifts 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.980 that are most vital for us. 00:15:20.220 --> 00:15:21.340 It is God himself. 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:25.100 I have a good friend 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:28.399 whose mum died last summer. 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:32.559 And my friend's dad 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.299 is kind of taking over the run of the home, 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:35.319 tries to do the cleaning, 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:37.740 tries to do the cooking at Christmas time. 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:39.120 He kind of wrapped all the presents. 00:15:39.319 --> 00:15:40.720 He tried to get the home in the way 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.240 that his mum would have made it. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:47.699 And of course, my friend, 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:49.480 he really appreciates 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:51.199 what his dad is doing, 00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:53.299 and he really appreciates 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:56.000 all that his dad is trying to fill that gap 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.000 that his mum has left, 00:15:58.039 --> 00:15:59.659 and all the things that she did, 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:00.580 the little presents, 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:01.980 the gifts, 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:03.679 the meals that she would make 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.019 that she knew her son loved. 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:09.279 But you see, 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:11.259 the issue is there, isn't it? 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:13.419 It's not the things 00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:15.419 that my friend misses, 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:16.320 really. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.240 It's not the little things 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.120 that his mum used to do for him 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:23.600 that he really misses. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.480 My friend says he just wishes 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:27.860 he could be with her. 00:16:28.640 --> 00:16:30.180 He could see her. 00:16:32.260 --> 00:16:35.120 It wasn't so much of what she did, 00:16:35.820 --> 00:16:37.720 but it was who she was. 00:16:39.020 --> 00:16:40.360 And it's the fact that someone 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:41.560 isn't there in the home 00:16:41.560 --> 00:16:42.620 when he goes back. 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:45.620 It's not the kind of convenience 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:47.279 of her doing all those things. 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:48.179 It's the companionship. 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:50.799 There's someone not there, 00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:51.940 and that's the real rub. 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:55.139 That's where the missing comes in, 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:55.419 isn't it? 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:57.860 Those of you who are missing someone. 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:00.759 And it's the same 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:01.960 with our relationship with God. 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:05.220 I hope we never have to go 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:06.039 to this extreme. 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:08.059 We can put up with a lot. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:10.559 We can miss a lot of God's gifts 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:11.420 and we can miss a lot of God's gifts 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:14.500 but the child of God 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:15.979 can never do without 00:17:15.979 --> 00:17:19.099 the presence of God himself. 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:23.219 And you must have that, mustn't you? 00:17:24.379 --> 00:17:25.979 To know God as your God. 00:17:26.939 --> 00:17:29.339 Or you are thrown into despair. 00:17:29.939 --> 00:17:31.599 And this ought to help you and I 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:32.859 this week concentrate 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:34.879 on what is our deepest need 00:17:34.879 --> 00:17:35.979 as the people of God 00:17:35.979 --> 00:17:37.799 and what is our deepest need 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:38.959 as a church. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:41.219 It is not the gifts of God. 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:43.759 It's not even the mercy of God. 00:17:43.860 --> 00:17:44.779 We don't want to divide that 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:45.620 from God himself. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:48.920 But it's not his gifts. 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:50.460 It is God himself 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:53.019 that we must have. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:56.079 And that is what is behind 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:57.339 the anguish of the cross. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:17:59.500 Thirdly, more briefly, 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:00.279 let's see the achievement 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:00.900 of the cross. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:02.240 Verses 51 to 54. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:04.039 In verse 51, 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:05.380 we are given access to God. 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:07.340 When Jesus died, 00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:08.420 the temple of the curtain 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:10.300 is torn from top to bottom. 00:18:11.300 --> 00:18:12.520 It's a supernatural thing. 00:18:12.600 --> 00:18:13.940 It is showing you that God 00:18:13.940 --> 00:18:15.220 is the one who tore that curtain. 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:17.260 And it shows that we have access 00:18:17.260 --> 00:18:18.440 to God. 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:21.580 In verses 52 and 53, 00:18:21.820 --> 00:18:23.180 those mysterious verses, 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:24.760 Matthew shows us 00:18:24.760 --> 00:18:26.680 that we have hope in life 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:27.920 because of Jesus' death. 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:29.880 Matthew pleases 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:32.260 them coming out of the graves. 00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:34.040 Here, 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:36.140 because of the earthquake, 00:18:36.340 --> 00:18:36.640 probably, 00:18:36.760 --> 00:18:37.600 when Jesus died. 00:18:39.300 --> 00:18:40.380 And he's saying 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:41.100 to you and I 00:18:41.100 --> 00:18:42.220 that there is hope 00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:44.780 in the face of death. 00:18:46.260 --> 00:18:47.080 Jesus' death 00:18:47.080 --> 00:18:48.260 has taken the sting 00:18:48.260 --> 00:18:49.540 out of death 00:18:49.540 --> 00:18:51.400 and gives life 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:52.300 to his people. 00:18:53.560 --> 00:18:54.160 There's another thing, 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:54.400 isn't there? 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:55.420 There's the torn veil, 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:57.140 there is the risen saints, 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:58.500 and then there is faith in Jesus. 00:18:58.640 --> 00:18:59.260 Verse 54. 00:19:00.800 --> 00:19:02.220 The centurion says, 00:19:02.300 --> 00:19:02.620 doesn't he, 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:05.060 truly this was 00:19:05.060 --> 00:19:06.420 the Son of God. 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:08.220 It's interesting. 00:19:08.560 --> 00:19:08.860 I have to note 00:19:08.860 --> 00:19:09.700 you've got in verse 14, 00:19:09.760 --> 00:19:10.380 verse 53, 00:19:10.540 --> 00:19:11.320 the Jewish leaders, 00:19:11.780 --> 00:19:13.720 they use the term 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:14.500 Son of God 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:15.160 and they throw it 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:15.880 in Jesus' face. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:17.980 And here you have 00:19:17.980 --> 00:19:20.080 a pagan Roman soldier 00:19:20.080 --> 00:19:21.320 using it 00:19:21.320 --> 00:19:22.360 in all seriousness. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:24.140 Truly this man 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:25.220 was the Son of God. 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:29.600 It may not have been 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:31.099 fully formed 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:32.459 and developed faith. 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:34.959 But don't underestimate 00:19:34.959 --> 00:19:36.000 what a step 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:37.039 the centurion takes. 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:39.659 He knew what he was saying 00:19:39.659 --> 00:19:41.379 because the Roman soldiers, 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.799 they were required, 00:19:42.939 --> 00:19:43.179 weren't they, 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:43.980 to take an oath 00:19:43.980 --> 00:19:44.679 to the emperor, 00:19:45.019 --> 00:19:45.959 an oath of fidelity. 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:47.679 In fact, 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:48.299 that kind of thing 00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:48.859 seems to have been 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:49.619 closely connected 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:51.019 with emperor worship. 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:52.339 And there were certain 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:54.319 terms of emperor worship 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:55.519 where you pleaded 00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:58.019 allegiance to Caesar. 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:00.099 He was called 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:00.879 Augustus, 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:01.220 wasn't he? 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:02.119 Which means 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:03.660 worthy to be worshipped. 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:05.639 And he was also called 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:06.339 another term, 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:07.420 the Son of God. 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:10.299 And so the centurion 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:12.259 looks at the lacerated, 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:13.779 bloodied corpse 00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:15.019 of the carpenter 00:20:15.019 --> 00:20:15.799 from Galilee. 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:19.240 And he dares to say 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:20.980 what he has seen. 00:20:22.299 --> 00:20:23.799 But this man 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:24.659 on the cross, 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:25.299 not Caesar, 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:27.619 was the Son of God. 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:30.579 And it's strange 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:31.779 that God 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:33.139 should create faith 00:20:33.139 --> 00:20:34.919 in such a man 00:20:34.919 --> 00:20:36.940 at the foot 00:20:36.940 --> 00:20:37.659 of the cross 00:20:37.659 --> 00:20:40.399 as Jesus begins 00:20:40.399 --> 00:20:41.579 to gather his church 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:41.940 of people 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:42.940 that confess his name. 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:45.980 And you may say, 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:46.759 well, that's well and good. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:48.519 But that is back 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:49.420 in Bible times 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:50.900 and this sort of stuff 00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:51.400 happened. 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:53.299 At the cross, 00:20:53.900 --> 00:20:54.820 these miracles 00:20:54.820 --> 00:20:55.920 can't happen again today. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:57.059 And in one sense, 00:20:57.100 --> 00:20:57.400 you're right. 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:00.580 The torn veil 00:21:00.580 --> 00:21:01.840 from top to bottom, 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:02.660 that isn't going 00:21:02.660 --> 00:21:03.299 to happen again. 00:21:04.600 --> 00:21:05.360 And those 00:21:05.360 --> 00:21:06.380 particular people 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:07.720 who were raised 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.299 out of their graves, 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:10.820 that is not going 00:21:10.820 --> 00:21:11.320 to be repeated. 00:21:12.940 --> 00:21:13.980 But there is one 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:14.580 repeatable thing, 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:14.920 isn't there? 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:17.580 The one miracle 00:21:17.580 --> 00:21:19.400 at Calvary, 00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:22.000 besides the torn veil 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.580 and the resurrected saints, 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:25.400 is the centurion's faith. 00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:28.759 And when people 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:30.440 like you and I 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:31.299 come to the cross 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:32.059 this morning 00:21:32.059 --> 00:21:33.059 and look on 00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:33.900 the Son of God, 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:36.259 that miracle 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:38.600 is still repeated today. 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:41.119 it is repeatable. 00:21:41.199 --> 00:21:42.240 It occurs again 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:42.980 and again 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:44.219 and again. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.000 And it may well be 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:47.599 that the Father 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:49.559 will open your eyes 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:51.740 if he has not yet. 00:21:53.199 --> 00:21:54.459 And that you will be able 00:21:54.459 --> 00:21:54.939 to say 00:21:54.939 --> 00:21:56.619 with all truth 00:21:56.619 --> 00:21:59.019 and all sincerity, 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:00.240 truly this man 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.740 was the Son of God. 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:06.220 Let's pray together. 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:06.259 Let's pray together.