This is a study of Jesus claiming to be the Son of God. Jesus did not hesitate to say " I AM THE SON OF GOD."

1. JESUS WAS CLAIMING TO BE THE SON OF GOD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 27:43 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue
him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of
God.'"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
He Who Saves Others CannotSave Himself
Matthew 27:42
R. Tuck
The leaders of the Jewishnation lookedwith grave suspicion on every one
who claimed to be Messiah;and as they. fully believed that when Messiah
came he would "abide forever," the crucifixion of Jesus was the plainest
possible proof that he was not Messiah. This text is the taunt founded on this
idea. "He saved others" is satire. They did not believe that he had saved
anybody. To them his imposture and his helplessnesswere atonce shown in
this - "himself he cannot save." Thosemockerswere wrong every way.
I. CHRIST DID SAVE OTHERS. Illustrate, by specimencases,the following
three points:
1. He did save from disability and disease. He gave sight to the blind, and
cleansedthe leper.

2. 2. He did save from death. He brought Lazarus back from the grave.
3. He did save from sin. Authoritatively saying to the paralytic, "Thy sins are
forgiven thee." He did "save to the uttermost."
II. CHRIST COULD HAVE SAVED HIMSELF. Had he so wished, he could
have commanded the service of "twelve legions ofangels." "There was nota
moment, from beginning to end of his human career, in which our blessed
Lord might not have turned back from shame and suffering. At the very
moment when these words were uttered, be had but to speak, and he would
have been surrounded by the responsive hosts of heaven, and in one moment
his pain would have been exchangedfor triumph." Nails could not hold him
againsthis will. He could have come down from the cross.
III. CHRIST WOULD NOT SAVE HIMSELF. There is the mystery of the
greatself-sacrifice.Becausehe would save others, he would not save himself.
Relatively to the work which our blessedLord had undertaken, it was
necessarythat he himself should not be saved, His mission required:
1. That his submission to God's will should be fully tested. And the last testof
a man is this - Can you die just when God pleases,just where God pleases,
just how God pleases?
2. That mission required the surrender of a human life as a sacrifice forsin.
That was the Divine plan for the redemption of men from sin; Jesus must
offer that sacrifice, so he would not come down from the cress. Our Lord's
own will gave the virtue to his sacrifice. He could have savedhimself, but he
would not. He meant to yield himself, in a voluntary act of obedience to God.
"By the which will we have been sanctified, through the offering of the body
of Jesus once for all." - R.T.

3. Biblical Illustrator
He saved others;Himself lie cannotsave.
Matthew 27:39, 40
He saved others, Himself He cannot save
J. Bowers.
I. The incontestible fact — "He savedothers." Let us bring forth witnesses:
Angels, healed men and women.
II. Himself He cannot save. He is Divine. The world was made by Him; yet
Himself He cannot save. The acts of unlimited providence are ascribedto
Him" He sustainethall things by the word of His power." "Himself He cannot
save." The resurrectionof the dead, administration of judgment are ascribed
to Him. "Himself He cannotsave." The powerto save Himself is
demonstrated in those very acts by which He "savedothers." The devils were
subject to Him. "No man taketh my life from Me, I lay it down of Myself."
III. Howeverparadoxicalall this may seem, I must proceedto ESTABLISH
THE MOMENTOUS TRUTHignorantly expressedin those words. In its
literal sense it was false;Jesus was notdestitute of physical powerto save
Himself; in its theologicalsenseit was true. There was no originalnecessity
that the Son of God must die; He might have left the race to perish. The
necessityofthe death of Jesus was founded —

4. 1. In the purpose and foreordination of God.
2. On the fulfilment which that event gives to the predictions of sacred
Scripture.
3. To fulfil the typical representations by which, under the Mosaic law, it had
been prefigured.
4. In order to verify His own declarations.
5. As a sacrificialatonementfor the sins of the world.
6. In order to the effusion of the Holy Spirit.
7. Even in order to the perfection of His example.Learn:
1. The affecting display which our subject presents of the love of Christ.
2. The glorious and certain effects of the Redeemer's sufferings.
3. I conjure you to seek a personalinterest in the important benefits of the
Saviour's death.
4. Let it be the theme of your meditation and the confirmation of your faith.
(J. Bowers.)
Successin apparent failure
W. W. Walker.
Christ seems a failure. Thus His enemies assertedand His friends seemedto
admit it. Where they right?
I. WHAT IS SUCCESS?
1. Certainly not that which is merely in appearance strong, beautiful, or
prosperous, for inwardly it may be quite different. The ship on the waters
may be beautiful to look at, but if made of inferior material is not a success.

5. 2. Notthat which is goodmerely for the time being. The finest house built on a
sand-hill has its ruin beneath it.
3. Noris it a necessaryelementof success, thatit should confer aught of
benefit or reward upon him who has brought it about. The highest favour
often comes after death.
4. Noris any result, howevermagnificent, obtained on doubtful principles
worthy of this royal title. God and His laws are againstit. Successis that good
purpose which hath been conducted upon right principles to a prosperous and
durable completion.
II. CHRIST WE CLAIM WAS AND IS A SUCCESS.
1. His purpose was good — to "save His people from their sins."
2. His purpose was conducted upon pure and holy principles.
3. Though small in its beginnings His purpose is evidently intended to prosper.
His influence has been steadily increasing.
4. His successis always durable.
III. HENCE THE PHARISEES ERRED. Theymistook the dawn of success
for the clouds of a coming failure. The causesthat led them to the error.
1. The bad habit of looking only at the outside of things. They were quick to
see a colouror a cloth, but not a principle.
2. Becausethey judged results by what they wanted instead of by what He
wanted. They wanteda temporal Messiah, He a spiritual.
3. Becausethey deemedsuccessa matter of thirty or forty years instead of all
time.
4. They could not understand His tearing self out of view. The omnipotence of
love exceeds mere physical almightiness.
(W. W. Walker.)

6. The Saviour of all bus Himself
S. H. Simpson., A. F. Muir, M. A.
I. WHAT THEY DEEMED HE COULD DO. "Himself He cannotsave."
1. He could. It was not in the power of man.
2. He could not. He would fulfil the Scripture.
II. WHAT THEY ALLOWED HE COULD DO.
(S. H. Simpson.)When originally spoken.
I. Implied a criticalposition.
II. Expresseda mistakenview of religion. The men who saw the Saviour dying
thought exclusively of the present; were more concernedfor pain and physical
deprivation than for sin; argued from self-love to the salvationof others.
III. Witnessedunconsciouslyto the principle of atonement. A moral necessity
compelled Him to die: the righteousness ofGod had to be vindicated; He
could only save others (in the deepersense of the word) by self-sacrifice. The
greatquestion with us all now should be, not "Could He save Himself?" or
"Could He save others?" but, "Has He saved us — has He enfranchised us
from self?"
(A. F. Muir, M. A.)
Self-sacrifice
J. M. Blackie,LL. B.
Many voices from Calvary; all significant.
I. A GREAT TRUTH. Truer word never uttered. Who meant by" others"?
Whoeverreferred to, the words true. This His work day by day. All ages shall
declare that this testimony of enemies was true.

7. II. A FALSEHOOD. He could save Himself. Did the speakers know their
words were false?
III. A latent truth. Concealedfrom the men who proclaimedit. A power at
work within Christ which made it impossible for Him to save Himself.
Impossibility seenin whateverway we regard His death. As a martyr,
example, victim of sin, substitute for sin, He could not save Himself.
Conclusion:The death of Christ a lessonof self-sacrifice. The highestrule in
the world that of Christ. His Spirit's rule who could not save Himself. Is the
cross ofChrist such a powerin our lives as to lead us in daily life to feel and to
show that though we can, yet we cannot? Appeal to men to yield themselves to
Him who gave Himself for them.
(J. M. Blackie, LL. B.)
He saved others, Himself He cannot save.
Necessityof the cross
A. Maclaren, D. D.
These men only needed to alter one letter to be grandly and gloriously right.
If, instead of "cannot," they had said"will not," they would have graspedthe
very heart of the power, and the very central brightness of the glory of
Christianity. "He savedothers; " and just because He saves others, Himself
He will not, and, in a real sense, "He cannot, save."...It was His own will, and
no outward necessity, that fastenedHim to the cross;and that will was kept
steadfastand immoveable by nothing else but His love: He Himself fixed the
iron chain which bound Him. He Himself made the" cannot." It was His love
that made it impossible He should relinquish the task;therefore His steely
will, like a strong spring constantly working, keptHim close up againstthe
sharp edge of the knife that cut into His very heart's life. Though there were
outward powers that seemedto knit Him there, and though to the eye of sense
the taunt of the priests might be true, "Himself He cannot save," — the
inmost verity of that cross is, "No man takethMy life from Me, I lay it down
of Myself, because I love and will save the world."... Yet a Divine necessityfor

8. the cross there was. No saving of men from any evil can be effective but at the
costof self-sacrifice.The lamp burns out in the very actof giving light. So
that, while on the one side there is necessity, on the other there is free, willing
submission. It was not high priests, Pilate, soldiers, nails, that fastenedJesus
to the cross. He was bound there by the cords of love, and by the bands of his
own infinitely merciful purpose.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
He saved others, Himself He cannot save
J. Cumming, D. D.
I. The confessionmade by the bitterest enemies of the Lord Jesus. Theyhad
long tried falsehood, now they admit the truth — "He savedothers." But we
may go back to the earlier eras in proof of this assertion. It was He that saved
Lot; the Egyptians from bondage;the people out of Babylon. He is able to
save others to the uttermost of human guilt, to the uttermost of human life, to
the uttermost of human time. How it comes to pass that He who saved others,
could not save Himself? It was not for want of power, for He had all powerin
heaven and earth. It was not through any deadness to a feeling of pain; for his
sensibilities were keen. It was not from any ignorance of the issue. The answer
is, "He came to seek and to save, etc." The inability to save Himself was not
physical.
I. It arose from the nature of the work he had undertaken. Without shedding
of blood was no remission. If others were to be savedChrist must die.
II. The everlasting purpose of the Father was another reasonwhy He could
not save Himself.
III. The Saviour's free undertaking of the office of a Priestand Victim and
Redeemerbrought Him into the condition that while He savedothers Himself
He could not save. He pledged Himself to go through with the amazing work
of redemption, even though hell oppose.

9. IV. The glory and honour of God made ,it the only alternative that while He
savedothers, Himself He could not save.
V. The love that He bore to us is another reasonof the truth of the text.
Learn:
1. The inseparable connectionthat subsists betweenthe sacrifice ofJesus and
the salvationof His people.
2. Deduce the length, height, depth of the love of Jesus.
3. What a fearful and obnoxious thing is sin.
4. What must be the greattheme of the gospelministry.
(J. Cumming, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(43) Let him deliver him now.—Itseems at first hardly conceivable that
priests and scribes could thus have quoted the very words of Psalm22:8, and
so have fulfilled one of the greatMessianic prophecies. But (1) we must
remember that they, ignoring the idea of a suffering Christ, would not look on
the Psalmas Messianic atall, and (2) that their very familiarity with the
words of the Psalm would naturally bring its phraseologyto their lips when
occasioncalledfor it. Only they would persuade themselves that they were
right in using it, while David’s enemies were wrong.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
27:35-44 It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify
the crime for which they suffered. So they setup one over Christ's head. This
they designedfor his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his

10. accusationwas to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time,
two robbers. He was, athis death, numbered among the transgressors,that
we, at our death, might be numbered among the saints. The taunts and jeers
he receivedare here recorded. The enemies of Christ labour to make others
believe that of religion and of the people of God, which they themselves know
to be false. The chief priests and scribes, and the elders, upbraid Jesus with
being the King of Israel. Many people could like the King of Israelwell
enough, if he would but come down from the cross;if they could but have his
kingdom without the tribulation through which they must enter into it. But if
no cross, then no Christ, no crown. Those that would reign with him, must be
willing to suffer with him. Thus our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy
the justice of God, did it, by submitting to the punishment of the worstof men.
And in every minute particular recordedabout the sufferings of Christ, we
find some prediction in the Prophets or the Psalms fulfilled.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
He saved others - It does not seemprobable that they meant to admit that he
had actually savedothers, but only that he "pretended" to save them from
death by miracles, or that he claimed to be the Messiah, andthus affirmed
that he "could" save them. This is, therefore, cutting irony.
If he be the King of Israel... - It may seemstrange to some that Jesus did not
vindicate by a miracle his claims to be the Messiah, andcome down from the
cross. But the time had come for him to make an atonement. He had given full
and sufficient proof that he was the Christ. Those who had rejectedhim, and
who mockedand taunted him, would have been little likely to admit his claims
if he had come down from the cross, since they had setat naught all his other
miracles. They said this for the purpose of insult; and Jesus chose ratherto
suffer, though his characterwas assailed, than to work a new miracle for their
gratification. He had foretold his death, and the time had come;and now,
amid revilings, and gibes, and curses, and the severe sarcasms ofan angry and
apparently triumphant priesthood, he chose to die for the sins of the world. To
this they added "insult" to God, profanely calling upon him to interpose by
miracle and save him, if he was his friend; and all this when their prophets
had foretold this very scene, and when they were fulfilling the predictions of

11. their own Scriptures. See the Isaiah 53 notes, and Daniel9:24-27 notes. So
wonderful is the way by which God causes His word to be fulfilled.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mt 27:34-50. Crucifixionand Deathof the Lord Jesus. ( = Mr 15:25-37;Lu
23:33-46;Joh 19:18-30).
For the exposition, see on[1375]Joh19:18-30.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Matthew 27:44".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
He trusted in God,.... That is, he pretended to claim an interest in him, to be
high in his favour and esteem, and to have great faith and confidence in him:
let him deliver him now; directly, from the cross, andthe death of it:
if he will have him; or if he is well pleasedwith him as his own Son, or delights
in him as such, and will show him any favour and good will; see Psalm22:8,
where are these very words, and which are predicted should be said by these
men to Christ; and are a wonderful confirmation of the truth of that Psalm
and prophecy belonging to him:
for he said, I am the Son of God; not only in his ministry, but he had said so in
their grand council, before them all.
Geneva Study Bible
He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I
am the Son of God.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 27:43 In the mouth of the members of Sanhedrim, who in Matthew
27:41 are introduced as joining in the blasphemies of the passers-by, and who,
Matthew 27:42, have likewise the inscription over the cross in view, the

12. jeering assumes a more impious character. They now avail themselves even of
the language ofholy writ, quoting from the 22d Psalm(which, moreover, the
Jews declaredto be non-Messianic), the 5th verse of which is given somewhat
looselyfrom the LXX. (ἤλπισεν ἐπὶ κύριον, ῥυσάσθω αὐτόν, σωσάτω αὐτόν,
ὅτι θέλει αὐτόν).
θέλει αὐτόν] is the rendering of the Heb. ‫ָח‬ ִ ‫ץ‬ ‫,ֹוּב‬ and is to be interpreted in
accordancewith the Septuagint usage of θέλειν (see Schleusner, Thes. II. p.
51, and comp. on Romans 7:21): if He is the objectof his desire, i.e. if he likes
Him; comp. Tob 13:6; Psalm18:19; Psalm41:11. In other instances the LXX.
give the preposition as well, rendering the Hebrew (1 Samuel 18:22, al.) by
θέλειν ἔν τινι. Fritzsche supplies ῥύσασθαι;but in that case we should have
had merely εἰ θέλει without αὐτόν;comp. Colossians2:18.
ὅτι θεοῦ εἰμι υἱός]The emphasis is on θεοῦ, as conveying the idea: I am not
the sonof a man, but of God, who in consequencewill be certain to deliver me.
Comp. Wis 2:18.
Observe further the short bounding sentences in which their malicious
jeering, Matthew 27:42 f., finds vent.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 27:43. his looks like a mere echo of Psalm22:9 (not a literal
quotation from the Sept[153], however, ratherrecalling Isaiah36:5) rather
than a word likely to be spokenby the Sanhedrists. What did they know about
the personalpiety of Jesus? Probablythey were aware that He used to call
God “Father,” and that may be the basis of the statement, along with the
confessionofSonship before the Sanhedrim: θεοῦ εἰμι υἱός.—νῦν, now is the
time for testing the value of His trust; a plausible wickedsneer.—εἰ θέλει

13. αὐτόν, if He love Him, an emphatic if, the love disproved by the fact.—θέλει is
used in the sense oflove in the Sept[154](Psalm18:20;Psalm 41:12). Palairet
gives examples of a similar use in Greek authors.
[153]Septuagint.
[154]Septuagint.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
43. He trusted in God] See Psalm22:8. The chief priests unconsciouslyapply
to the true Messiahthe very words of a Messianic psalm.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 27:43. Πέποιθεν, He trusted) cf. the end of the verse.—εἶπε γὰρ,
κ.τ.λ., for He said, etc.)We may considerthat this was either uttered by those
who were passing by, or added by the Evangelistfor the sake ofexplanation.
The LXX. in Psalms 22(21):8, have ἥλπισεν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ῥυσάσθω Αὐτόν·
σωσάτω Αὐτὸν, ὅτι θέλει Αὐτόν, He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver Him:
let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 43. - He trusted in (ἐπὶ, on) God. These scoffers cite a passage from
Psalm22:8, "He trusted unto the Lord that he would deliver him; let him
deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him" (Hebrew); or, according to the
Septuagint, "He hoped in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him,
because he desires (θέλει) him." Let him deliver him now, if he will have him
(εἰ θέλει). Θέλω is used in the Septuagint in the sense of "I love," "I wish for"
(see Deuteronomy21:14; Psalm17:19; 40:11). But the Vulgate, by omitting
the first αὐτόν, possibly takes the verb in the usual sense, Liberet nunc, si vult,
eum. The Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts and others support this reading,
which is followednow by Tischendorf, and WestcottandHort, so that the
clause will run, Let him now, if he will, deliver him. But the ReceivedTextand

14. the Authorized Version are in closeragree ment with the original language of
the psalm. Forhe said, I am the Son of God. Insultingly they allude to his own
assertions concerning his Divine nature, implying that, were he such as he
pretended to be, he would not now be dying on the shameful cross. There are
wonderful coincidencesin thought and language betweenthis passageand one
in the Book ofWisdom (2:13-20), which speaks of the oppressionof the
righteous, e.g. "He professethto have the knowledge ofGod; and he calleth
himself the child of the Lord.... Let us see if his words be true; and let us prove
what shall happen in the end of him. For if the just man be the Son of God, he
will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies." The similarity
of expressionis to be attributed to the typical nature of the treatment of
Christ, which the writer of Wisdom, with remarkable insight, thus forcibly
delineated.
Vincent's Word Studies
If he will have him (εἰ θέλει αὐτόν)
Rev., correctly, If he desireth him: i.e., If he likes him. Compare Psalm
18:19(Sept. 17)Psalm18:19; because he delightest in me (ἠθέλνσέ με), Psalm
41:11(Sept. 40)Psalm41:11(τεθέληκάς με).
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
BRIAN BELL
Matthew 27:27-44 5-21-17 Love is MessyI. Slide1 Announce: A.
Slide2-6 Larry: Being Mortal. Ramadan. Summer Volunteers. 3-5th Camp.
HS Camp. B. Slide7 Baby Dedication- Noah/KassieDenny. Evelyn Grace.
Ezra. C. Slide8 IsraelInfo Mtg - today after 3rd service, MercyRm, 1:30pm.
D. Children at Risk - Today. 3-5pm in Agape room. Debbie Martis from
Rebirth Homes. E. Prayer: Jesus 1stYou left it all. Then gave it all & paid it

15. all. So You can now offer it all II. Slide9 Intro: Love is MessyA.Slide10,11
Spurgeon, Leave out the cross, & you have killed the religion of Jesus.
Atonement by the blood of Jesus is not an arm of Christian truth it is the
Heart of it. B. As the Tree of good/evil introduced the curse into the world; so
God ordained a Tree, the Cross as the means of the curses removal. 1. 953
chapters after the Tree of Gen.3, we find another Tree in which we may
finally restin its shade. It’s wondrous branches stretching far & wide, where
we still go to gatherthe fruit of eternal reconciliationto Godthe Father. 2. I
like the reminder that, God made a grace gardenwith 1 law tree, not, a law
garden with 1 grace tree. C. Slide11bOutline: Preaching Pavement. Baby
ShowerGift. God’s Tract.
III. Slide12 PREACHING PAVEMENT (27-31)A. This is where it all got
messy. This is the bloody Pavement in The Passionofthe Christ where Jesus
was whipped almost to death. B. The Roman ritual of condemnationwent like
this... 1. The judge would say Illum duci ad crucem placet [this man should
be taken to a cross]2. Then, he turned to the guard & said, I miles expedi
crucem [Go soldier, prepare the cross]1
1
1 William Barclay, pg.358,359.
a) While the cross was being prepared, Jesus was in the hands of the soldiers.
C. Slide13 Praetorium – The governor’s headquarters. In the courtyard. 1.
NW cornerof the Temple area, at the Towerof Antonia, on the eastside of
the city. They discoveredin excavations a large pavement area. a)Jn.19:13
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down
in the judgment seatin a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew,
Gabbatha. b) When you visit, you can even see a game chipped into one of the
Paving stones. D.Here they play the Comic King [A game of cat& mouse]1.
Remember He had already went through the scourging before this horseplay
began. 2. To them Jesus was only another man for a cross, & they carried
their barrackroompantomime of royalty & worship, not w/any malice, but as
a coarse jest. a)No, the malice comes later…from His own. :( b) The Crown
preaches a message...here stands Jesus wearing the consequences ofAdam’s

16. sin (Adam’s fall brought the thorns). 3. All in a days work for the soldiers. But
not every day did they have one that claimed to be King. So to relieve some
boredom, a few minutes of entertainment at Jesus’expense. E. Sin should be
slapped. Covetousnessshould be crucified. Wickednessshould be whipped.
Bad decisions should be beat. Shortcomings should be scourged...notJesus!F.
Struck him on the head - most likely to drive the sharp thorns onto His brow.
1. Show thorns from Israel. 2. Struck is in the imperfect tense indicating, they
repeatedly struck him on the head. * this affectedme more than anything
here. Over & over. Stop it! (yet, eachblow is exactly like just 1 of our sins.
That same voice yells, Stop it!) 3. The crownof thorns a cruel caricature of the
wreath worn by the emperor. a) The physical sufferings of Christ have always
been, and will remain, a window through which we see…the heart of God. G.
Our Lord quietly suffered & never fought back. 2
1. A lessonMatt’s readers would need to learn as they facedofficial
persecution.
H. This Pavementstill preaches:[it’s a powerful, somber, sobering,
overwhelming spot] 1. Our JewishTour guide said, I never heard that it
wasn’t the Jews fault or the soldiers, but that we EACH put Jesus onthe
cross. WE are to blame. 2. I asked1 who taught a this site, What struck you?
The cost;the value of me. [It’s the messy side of God’s love] 3. I had asked
another, What struck you? It sunk in, not only where we were but what He
did.
IV. Slide14 BABY SHOWER GIFT (32-36)A. According to law, the guilty
victim had to carry his cross, orat leastthe cross beam, to the place of
execution, & Jesus was no exception. 1. He left Pilate’s hall bearing His cross.
B. Here we have the long walk down the Via Dolorosa, i.e. roadof sorrows. 1.
Slide15 Chrysostomsaw prophetic fulfillment in this, seeing it as parallel to
Isaac’s bearing the woodfor his own sacrifice to Mt. Moriah. a) Gen.22:6 So
Abraham took the woodof the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; &
he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 2.
Slide16 And so, Jesus is off to Jerusalem's killing fields. C. Slide17a (32)
Simon of Cyrene - [CyreNAIca was in EasternLibya today, near Benghazi]1.
Slide17bSimon came to Jerusalemto celebrate the Passover;and ended up

17. meeting the Passover…Lamb. 2. The next time your plans are interrupted &
you have to carry another’s cross, rememberwhat Simon did for Jesus AND
what Jesus did for Simon. 3. In Lk.23:26 He bears it after Jesus. Thateither
can mean Jesus took the front & Simon carriedthe rear (lighter side). Or,
Jesus took it from Antonia Fortress to the Damascus Gate (whichHe did) then
Simon carriedit from the gate to Calvary.
3
D. Slide18 My children receivedUS Savings Bonds at their birth. It meant
nothing to them as a baby or even a child but later in adulthood it would be
useful. [$25 - $75 after yrs of accruing interest, to help pay for the U.S.
government's borrowing needs] 1. And so here with Jesus, atHis birth he
receivedthe gold, frankincense, myrrh. E. Slide19 (34) Wine mingled w/gall
(in Marks accountMyrrh) (resin/powder) 1. To drug w/Myrrh. In accordance
w/Jewishcustoms basedon Prov 31:6, this was given to dull the senses.Give
strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of
heart. a) An acceptable anesthetic to deadenphysical pain, or deep emotional
bitterness. 2. The Babylonian Talmud says that, respectedwomenappointed
themselves to provide condemned victims w/a narcotic, pain-reducing drink
before execution. F. But Jesus refusedit... 1. He would not have His senses
dulled. 2. He wanted to be in full possessionofHis faculties as He did the
Fathers will. 3. He would accomplishthe work of Redemption. 4. He would
enter fully into His sufferings, on our behalf. 5. He would take no shortcuts. 6.
He refused the cup of sympathy so that He might better drink the cup of
iniquity. G.Myrrh was receivedat His birth, yet denied at His death. [simply
pointed to His death] 1. Finally, that strange baby showergift makes sense.
H. (35) Then they crucified Him - Crucifixion was a barbaric form of capital
punishment invented by the Persians. [Theybelieved the earth was sacredto
Ahura Mazda, the earth god] 1. They felt that death should not contaminate
the earth; thus hung them above the earth.
[Ahura Mazda=Lord Wisdom]
I. Slide20,21Rememberlater on, Jesus showing the scars from His nails? 1.
He didn’t pretend his holes/scars/wounds weren’tthere. The nails were there.

18. 2. And admitting it doesn’t take scars away...scars remain. 3. What/who has
wounded you? What scars do you bear in your body/mind/soul?
4
a) Know that God will release the greatestpowerin your life from where the
nails were. [just like when He showedHis scars]4. It takes faith to believe, the
same place where the nails were, is the same place where the healing is. 5. Oh
your scars happened, and they hurt...but don’t stay wounded...whenthere is
healing in His hands.
V. Slide22 GOD’S TRACT (37-44)[Hebrew. Gk. Lt.] A. The King of the Jews
(37) [read His placard as truth. God speaking truth through unbel’s] 1. The
Jews repeatedlyaskedPilate to change the sign (Jn.19:21,22). FinallyPilate
stands for something & says, Do not write The King of the Jews, but that he
said that he was...whatI have written I have written. a) Oh, an eternal truth
Mr. Pilate…forHe is a King. b) During Jesus’infancy the Magicame from
the Eastheralding Him as King. c) Now, His royal title is fixed to His cross.
[some call it God’s 1st tract] (1) And 1 day when He returns it will be
emblazoned on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS. 2. Slide23 A King - 1stat His crib. 2nd on His cross.
3rd to be on the day of His coronation. [remember from Christmas] B. (39)
Thomas Carlyle calledridicule...the language ofthe devil. Here, it was so true.
1. Murder of the tongue is a weaponof mass destruction, causing emotional
bloodshed and psychologicalwarfare that only God's grace canheal. C.
Slide24 (40) Come down from the cross - How about come up from the grave
in 3? 1. Salvador Dali, Christ of Saint John of the Cross. D. Save Yourself - Be
careful of the worlds whispers... 1. The devil told Jesus, serve Yourself
(Mt.4:3,4) 2. Petersaid, pity Yourself (Mt.16:21-23)3. His unsaved relatives
said, show Yourself (Jn.7:4) 4. The world said, defend Yourself but Jesus was
silent (Mt.27:14). 5. The world said, pamper Yourself but Jesus refusedthe
drug (34).
5
6. The crowd at Calvary said, save Yourself but Jesus remained on the cross
& finished the work the Fathergave him to do (42). Adapted, Warren

19. Wiersbe pg.664,665. E. Jesus was deafto all those appeals & gave Himself. 1.
Starting as a baby...He gave Himself. Continuing w/a perfect life...He gave
Himself. Culminating on His cross...He gave Himself. Today, as our mediator
& interceder...He still gives Himself. F. (42) He savedothers; Himself He
could not save – 1. It is preciselybecause He did not save Himself, that He was
able to save others. 2. It is possible that their sarcastic...He savedothers, may
have encouragedthe one thief to trust Him. G. (42) One lastchallenge, Come
down from the cross & we will believe in You. 1. GeneralBoothsaid long ago,
It is because Jesus did not come down from the Cross that we believe in him.
H. Slide25 While man was doing his worse…Godwas doing His best. I. 1st
see Jesus as Sufferer - observe His great love for you. 2nd see Jesus as
Sovereign- behold the King & His demands...Repent& Believe. 3rd see Jesus
as your Substitute - ask Jesus to place your sins in His paper shredder for you,
for He has takenyour place. 1 Pet.2:24 He bore our sins in His own body on
the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness;by whose
stripes you were healed. J. At the Pavement...Love was Messy. On the
Cross...Love was Messy. Today, whenyou try to love others in Jesus’name,
you’ll find...Love is Messy.
K. Illustration about Faith: A thirsty man sees a waterpump in the middle of
the desert. His water bottles are empty and he comes upon this pump. Tied to
it is a hand written note put there by someone before him. The note reads "I
have buried a bottle of waterto prime the pump. Don't drink any of it. Pour
in half of it to wetthe leather. Wait, and then pour in the rest. Then pump.
The well has never gone dry, but the pump must be primed to bring the water
up. When you are through drawing water, refill the bottle and bury it in the
sand for the next traveler." Warning! “You are going to be tempted to not
believe this
6
note, & want to just consume the bottle. If you do, you’ll soonbe thirsty again,
& so will be everyone else that follows you.” 1. That’s the choice that we all
have. We can empty it all on ourselves, but then we’ll be empty again. Or, we
empty it on onto God’s hands. If we do so He promises that He will give us

20. living water that will become in us a fountain, springing up into everlasting
life. 7
ALAN CARR
THE CRUCIFIXION OF THE KING
Intro: The history of the world is little more than a collectionof days, strung
togetherto form years, the years to form decades and the decades to form
centuries. Mostdays are ordinary days, there is little to distinguish them from
any other day. However, here and there along the relentless march of history,
one encounters days that are worth remembering.
The landscape of history is dotted with what we might refer to as days of
infamy. President Franklin Roosevelt, referring to December7, 1941, the day
the Japanesebombed the Naval base at PearlHarbor, Hawaiisaid, "It was a
day that will live in infamy." An infamous day is one to be remembered
because anevent of unspeakable evil or some other horrible event occurred.
Another infamous day that is fresh in all of our minds is September 11, 2001,
when America suffered a brutal terrorist attack.
Of course, other days in history are to be remembered because ofthe special
nature of the events that occurredin them. November 9, 1989 will always be
remembered as the day the Berlin Wall came crashing down, signaling the
end of the oppressionof the people's of EasternEurope. Just this week, April
9, 2003, billions of people watchedas the citizens of Baghdadtoppled a 40 foot
statue of Saddam Hussein, signifying the end of his reign of terror.
The day before us in our text today has the distinction of being both a day of
intense evil and a day which witnessedthe triumph of goodover evil. There is
no other day in history that rises to the level of the day The King Was
Crucified! It was an infamous day because it shows man at the height of his
sinfulness. It was infamous because He came unto His Own and His Own

21. receivedHim not. It was infamous because the Creatoris put to death by His
creatures!However, it was a famous day in the annals of history because sin
was defeated;the powerof Satan was foreverbroken; and because the black
halls of death were invaded by the Prince of Life!
I would like for us to travel back to that day 2000 years ago and watchas the
King of glory is crucified at Calvary. I pray the significance ofthat day will be
made clearto our hearts and minds. Let's witness togetherThe Crucifixion Of
The King.
I. V. 33 THE PLACE OF HIS CRUCIFIXION
A. It Was A Prominent Place
1. It Was Prominent Physically - Golgotha - the place of the skull, or in Latin,
it is called Calvary! That place that resembles the skull of a dead man. That
place littered with the skulls of death men. That place just outside the gates of
the city of Jerusalemwas well knownto all the people who lived there. They
had witnessedthe deaths of thousands of criminals and others who were
consideredenemies of the Romangovernment. Since it was Roman practice to
allow the bodies of the crucified to rot on their crosses, you canbelieve that
the people of Israel knew this place very well.
2. It Was Prominent Historically - this mountain that was being defiled by
Rome was a specialplace for the Jews. You see, this hill was part of the same
ridge upon which the Temple itself was built. It was also here that Abraham
had brought his son Isaac many centuries before to offer him to God, Gen. 22.
This was a very prominent place for the Jewishpeople.
B. It Was A Prophetic Place - In Gen. 22, we find the story of how Abraham
was commanded to offer up his son Isaac as a burnt offering to God. That
passageis one of the clearestOld Testamentpictures of the coming death of
God's Son Jesus on Calvary. There, we see a Father willingly giving up his
own son to die. In that passage, there are two verses worthy of specialnote
today. Notice verses 5-14. Two versesstandout to my mind in connectionwith
what we are studying today. The first is verse 8. There, Abraham says, "God
will prove Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." The wording of that verse is

22. significant! The secondverse is verse 14, where the Bible says, "In the mount
of the LORD it shall be seen." This is an ancient prophesy telling us that God
would give His Lamb on this very mountain. That is just what we are seeing in
Matt. 27. This was a prophetic place!
II. V. 35-49 THE PAIN OF HIS CRUCIFIXION
A. V. 35a He Endured The Pain Of The Cross - The Bible says it so simply,
"And they crucified Him..." But, those words do not even begin to convey the
horror of what Jesus Christ endured on that cross. Considerthat fact that
before He arrived at Calvary Jesus had been awake allnight. He has been
through at leastfour trials. He has been beaten by the Jews. He has been
beaten by the Romansoldiers. He has endured the horror of the Roman
scourge. He has been mocked, ridiculed, spit upon and made to carry His
cross to Calvary, then He is crucified! An actmore horrible than anything you
and I canimagine! Here is a brief description of what it must have been like.
(Note:What is crucifixion? A medical doctor provides a physical description:
The cross is placed on the ground and the exhaustedman is quickly thrown
backwards with his shoulders againstthe wood. The legionnaire feels for the
depressionat the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron
nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quicklyhe moves to the other
side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but
to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.
The left foot is pressedbackwardagainstthe right foot, and with both feet
extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the
knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags downwith more
weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the
fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain--the nails in the wrists are
putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid
this stretching torment, he places the full weighton the nail through his feet.
Again he feels the searing agonyof the nail tearing through the nerves
betweenthe bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweepthrough the
muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps
comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into

23. the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one
small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood
stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodicallyhe is able to push
himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.
Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps,
intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his
laceratedback as he moves up and down againstthe rough timber. Then
another agonybegins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chestas the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is
now almostover--the loss of tissue fluids has reacheda critical level--the
compressedheartis struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggishblood into the
tissues--the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gaspin small gulps of
air. He canfeel the chill of death creeping through is tissues. . .Finally he can
allow his body to die.
All this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him."
(Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this? That was whatHe endured
because ofHis love for you, Rom. 5:8!
- Adapted from C. Truman Davis, M.D. in The Expositor's Bible Commentary
Vol. 8.)
(Note:I would remind you that He was still the Creatoras He hung on that
cross!He could have calledfor myriads of angels, Matt. 26:53, but He
endured His crucifixion in silence, just as the prophet had said He would, Isa.
53:7. Why did He do this? Because He loves you!)
B. V. 35-44 He Endured The Pain Of The Crowds - While Jesus endured the
agonyof the cross, those who were at Calvary that day did everything in their
powerto enhance His suffering. The soldiers who had nailed Him to the cross
are at His feet gambling overHis clothes. The rank and file walk beneath His
strickenform and mock Him. The religious leaders ridicule this sad, broken
figure hanging on the cross. Eventhe two other men who are hanging there
with Him that day join in the mockeryof the Lord Jesus Christ!

24. The only compassionHe receivedthat day was from a tiny group of people
gatheredat the foot of His cross watching His die. His mother, an aunt, a
beloved disciple, a woman delivered from a life of sin. They were there to love
Him and mourn His death!
(Note:Again, I am reminded of just Who this was hanging there that day!
One word from Him and His tormentors would have evaporatedinto
nothingness!Yet, He did not return their torments or attacks.WhenHe did
speak, it was to pray for them and for their forgiveness, Luke 23:34. What
grace!Why did He do this? BecauseHe loves you!)
C. V. 45-46 He Endured The Pain Of The Condemned - When I refer to His
enduring the pain of the condemned, I am not just referring to His graciously
saying the dying thief, Luke 23:39-43. I am referring to the amazing event that
transpired during the three hours of darkness. I am referring to that moment
in time when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, literally became the sin of the
world on the cross, 2 Cor. 5:21. I will never understand it, but I praise God
for it every day. Somehow, all of our sins were transferred to Him as He hung
on that cross. He, the lastAdam, became our sin and He was judged by God in
our place!The first Adam brought sin and death to the entire human race by
his actions in the Garden of Eden. The secondAdam, the Lord Jesus, brought
salvationand life to all who will believe by His actions on the cross of Calvary!
God judged Him as if He were every sinner when He died. He paid the price
for all of us that we all might be saved!
(Note:Why did He endure the full brunt of the wrath of God on the cross?
Why did He take our Hell and feel our death? Because He loves you!)
III. V. 50-54 THE POWER OF HIS CRUCIFIXION
A. V. 50 The PowerOf Redemption - When the Saviour breathed His laston
the cross, redemptionhad been securedfor all those who will place their faith
in Him! No greaterwords have ever been spokenthat when Jesus, justbefore
He died said, "It is finished!", John 19:30. Through His death, He satisfied
God's just demands for sin, Rom. 6:23. He took the place of the guilty before
the judgment bar of God and securedredemption through His blood for all
who will trust Him as their Savior, 1 Pet. 1:18-19!His death on the cross

25. forever satisfiedGod, 1 John 2:2; Rom. 3:25. His death on the cross liberates
those trapped and victimized by sin! He sets us free when we receive Him by
faith!
(Ill. In his book Written in Blood, Robert Colemantells the story of a little boy
whose sisterneededa blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had
the same disease the boy had recoveredfrom two years earlier. Her only
chance for recoverywas a transfusion from someone who had previously
conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type,
the boy was the ideal donor.
"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctorasked. Johnny hesitated.
His lowerlip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my
sister." Soonthe two children were wheeledinto the hospital room--Mary,
pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes
met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny's
smile faded. He watchedthe blood flow through the tube.
With the ordealalmost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence.
"Doctor, whendo I die?'
Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had
trembled when he'd agreedto donate his blood. He's thought giving his blood
to his sistermeant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he'd made his great
decision. Johnny, fortunately, didn't have to die to save his sister. Eachof us,
however, has a condition more serious than Mary's, and it required Jesus to
give not just His blood but His life.)
What that means for you my friend is that you do not have to die and go to
Hell! You can be savedby the grace of God! Your sins canbe forgiven! You
can be made right with God if you will receive Him as your Lord and Savior!
B. V. 50 The PowerOf Restoration - Through the death of Jesus on the cross,
the believerfinds himself restoredto a right relationship with God. Through
His death, all those who receive Him by faith, are justified, Rom. 5:9. The
word justified means "to be declaredrighteous;to render one righteous, or to
make one as he ought to be." The blood of Jesus does for me what I could

26. never do for myself! It washes my sins awayand renders me righteous in the
sight of the Lord. It is the blood of Jesus that makes men worthy to go to
Heaven, Phil. 3:9.
C. V. 51 The PowerOf Reconciliation - When Jesus died on the cross, we are
told that the veil of the Temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom.
The veil stood as a barrier betweenthe holy place and the holy of holies in the
Temple. Behind this veil was the mercyseat. The High Priestwould enter
behind that veil once eachyear on the Day of Atonement and place the blood
of the sacrifice onthe mercyseatto atone for the sins of the people. That veil
had stoodas a reminder that man was separatedfrom God by his sins and
was unworthy to approach God, Isa. 59:2. However, when Jesus died on the
cross, that veil was torn in two, signifying that the way to Godhad been
opened. Man no longerneed ever be separatedfrom God by his sins any
longer. He canbe brought into the presence ofGod by the blood of Christ that
was shed on the cross, Eph. 2:12-16. The blood brings sinful man and holy
God togetheras one!
Conc:I can only think of one day that might rival the day Jesus died as an
even more glorious day, at leaston a personallevel. That day would be the
day when I understood that He died for me and I responded to His call and
was savedby His grace.
My friends, has the day Jesus died on the cross reallybecome the day that He
died for you? You say, "But didn't He die for everyone?" WellYes and No!
His death only has value for you if you are willing to receive Him as your
Saviour! Otherwise, as far as you are concerned, His death on the cross meant
absolutely nothing!
Has there been a day in your life when you trusted Jesus Christ as your
personalSavior? Has there been a moment in your life when you embraced
Him, His blood and His resurrectionas your only hope of Heaven? Are you
saved? If not, you canbe! Just come to Him if He is calling you and He will
save you by His grace and setyou free from your sins and your destiny in
Hell.

27. Are you saved? Are you living like a savedperson? After all He did for you,
how can you give Him less than your best? Are you saved? How long has it
been since you bowedbefore Him and just loved on the Lord and thanked
Him for saving an old sinner like yourself? Whatever He is doing in your
heart today, just mind Him!
“Let Him Deliver Him Now” BY SPURGEON
“He trusted in God. Let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for
He said I am the Son of God.”
Matthew 27:43
THESE words are a fulfillment of the prophecy containedin the twenty-
secondPsalm. Readfrom the seventhverse–“Allthey 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.” Thus to the letter does our Lord answerto the ancient prophecy.
It is very painful to the heart to picture our blessedMasterin His death-
agonies, surrounded by a ribald multitude who watchedHim and mocked
Him. They made sport of His prayer and insulted His faith. Nothing was
sacredto them–they invaded the Holy of Holies, His confidence in God and
taunted Him concerning that faith in Jehovahwhich they were compelled to
admit. See, dearFriends, what an evil thing is sin, since the Sin-bearer suffers
so bitterly to make atonementfor it! See, also, the shame of sin, since even the
Prince of Glory, when bearing the consequencesofit, is coveredwith
contempt! Behold, also, how He loved us! Forour sake He “endured the
Cross, despising the shame.” He loved us so much that even scornof the most
cruel sort He deigned to bear, that He might take awayour shame and enable
us to look up unto God.
Beloved, the treatment of our Lord Jesus Christby men is the clearestproof
of total depravity which can possibly be required or discovered. Those must
be stony hearts, indeed, which can laugh at a dying Saviorand mock even at
His faith in God! Compassionwould seemto have desertedhumanity while
malice satsupreme on the throne. Painful as the picture is, it will do you good

28. to paint it. You will need neither canvas, norbrush, nor palette, nor colors.
Let your thoughts draw the outline and your love fill in the detail. I shall not
complain if imagination heightens the coloring. The Son of God, whom angels
adore with veiled faces, is pointed at with scornful fingers by men who thrust
out the tongue and mockinglyexclaim, “He trusted on the Lord that He would
deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him.”
While thus we see our Lord in His sorrow and His shame as our Substitute,
we must not forget that He also is there as our Representative. Thatwhich
appears in many a Psalmto relate to David is found in the Gospels to refer to
Jesus, our Lord. Often and often the student of the Psalmwill say to himself,
“Of whom does the Prophet speak?”He will have to disentangle the threads
sometimes and mark off that which belongs to David and that which relates to
the Sonof God. And frequently he will not be able to disentangle the threads
at all because theyare one and may relate both to David and to David’s Lord.
This is meant to show us that the life of Christ is an epitome of the life of His
people. He not only suffers for us as our Substitute but He suffers before us as
our Pattern. In Him we see whatwe have in our measure to endure. “As He is,
so are we also in this world.” We also must be crucified to the world and we
may look for some of those tests of faith and taunts of derision which go with
such a crucifixion. “Marvel not if the world hates you.” You, too, must suffer
without the gate. Not for the world’s redemption but for the accomplishment
of Divine purposes in you and through you. To the sons of men you must be
made to know the Cross and its shame. Christ is the mirror of the Church.
What the Head endured, every member of the body will also have to endure in
its measure.
Let us read the text in this light and come to it saying to ourselves, “Here we
see what Jesus sufferedin our place and we learn hereby to love Him with all
our souls. Here, too, we see, as in a prophecy, how greatthings we are to
suffer for His sake atthe hands of men.” May the Holy Spirit help us in our
meditation so that at the close ofit we may more ardently love our Lord, who
suffered for us and may we more carefully arm ourselves with the same mind
which enabled Him to endure such contradiction of sinners againstHimself.
Coming at once to the text, first, observe the acknowledgmentwith which the
text begins–“He trustedin God.” The enemies of Christ admitted His faith in
God. Secondly, considerthe test which is the essenceofthe taunt–“Let Him
deliver Him, if He will have Him.” When we have taken those two things into
our minds, then let us for a while considerthe answerto that testand taunt–
God does assuredlydeliver His people. Those who trust in Him have no
reasonto be ashamedof their faith.

29. 1. First, then, my Beloved, you who know the Lord by faith and live by
trusting in Him, let me invite you to OBSERVE THE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTwhichthese mockers made of our Lord’s
faith–“He trusted in God.” Yet the Saviordid not wear any peculiar
garb or token by which He let men know that He trusted in God. He
was not a recluse, neither did He join some little knot of separatists who
boastedtheir peculiar trust in Jehovah. Although our Savior was
separate from sinners, He was eminently a man among men, and He
went in and out among the multitude as one of themselves.
His one peculiarity was that “He trusted in God.” He was so perfectly a man
that although He was undoubtedly a Jew, there were no Jewishpeculiarities
about Him. Any nation might claim Him but no nation could monopolize Him.
The characteristicsofour humanity are so palpably about Him that He
belongs to all mankind. I admire the Welchsisterwho was of opinion that the
Lord Jesus must be Welch. When they askedher how she proved it she said
that He always spoke to her heart in Welch. Doubtless it was so and I can,
with equal warmth, declare that He always speaksto me in English.
Brethren from Germany, France, Sweden, Italy–you all claim that He speaks
to you in your own tongue. This was the one thing which distinguished Him
among men–“He trusted in God,” and He lived such a life as naturally grows
out of faith in the Eternal Lord. This peculiarity had been visible even to that
ungodly multitude who leastof all caredto perceive a spiritual point of
character. Was everany other upon a cross thus saluted by the mob who
watchedhis execution? Had these scorners evermockedanyone before for
such a matter as this? I Doubt it. Yet faith had been so manifest in our Lord’s
daily life that the crowd cried out aloud, “He trusted in God.”
How did they know? I suppose they could not help seeing that He made much
of God in His teaching, in His life and in His miracles. WheneverJesus spoke
it was always godly talk. And if it were not always distinctly about God, it was
always about things that related to God, that came from God, that led to God,
that magnified God. A man may be fairly judged by that which he makes most
of. The ruling passionis a fair gauge ofthe heart. What a soul-ruler faith is! It
sways the man as the rudder guides the ship. When a man once gets to live by
faith in God, it tinctures his thoughts, it masters his purposes. It flavors his
words, it puts a tone into his actions and it comes out in everything by ways
and means most natural and unconstrained–till men perceive that they have
to do with a man who makes much of God.
The unbelieving world says outright that there is no God and the less
impudent, who admit His existence, put Him down at a very low figure–so low

30. that it does not affect their calculations. Butto the true Christian, God is not
only much, but ALL. To our Lord Jesus, Godwas All in All. And when you
come to estimate God as He did, then the most carelessonlookerwill soon
begin to say of you, “He trusted in God.” In addition to observing that Jesus
made much of God, men came to note that He was a trusting man and not
self-confident. Certain persons are very proud because they are self-made
men. I will do them the credit to admit that they heartily worship their
maker–Selfmade them, and they worship Self.
We have among us individuals who are self-sufficientand almost all-sufficient.
They sneerat those who do not succeed, for they cansucceedanywhere at
anything The world to them is a football which they can kick where they like.
If they do not rise to the very highest eminence it is simply out of pity to the
rest of us who ought to have a chance. A vat of sufficiency ferments within
their ribs! There was nothing of that sort of thing in our Lord. Those who
watchedHim did not say that He had greatself-reliance and a noble spirit of
self-confidence. No, no!They said, “He trusted in God.” Indeed it was so. The
words that He spoke He spoke not of Himself. The greatdeeds that He did He
never boastedof but said, “the Father that dwells in Me, He does the works.”
He trusted in God, not a boasterin self.
Brethren, I desire that you and I may be just of that order. Self-confidence is
the death of confidence in God. Reliance upon talent, tact, experience and
things of that kind kills faith, Oh that we may know what faith means and so
look out of ourselves and quit the evil confidence which looks within!
On the other hand, we may wiselyremember that while our Lord Jesus was
not self-reliant, He trusted and was by no means despondent–He was never
discouraged. He neither questioned His commission nor despaired of fulfilling
it. He never said, “I must give it up–I can never succeed.”No–“Hetrusted in
God.” And this is a grand point in the working of faith, that while it keeps us
from self-conceit, it equally preserves us from enfeebling fear. Our blessed
Lord set His face like a flint when, being baffled, He returned to the conflict.
When being betrayed, He still perseveredin His love–then men could not help
seeing that he trusted in God. His faith was not mere repetition of a creed, or
professionof belief but it was childlike reliance upon the Most High. May ours
be of the same order!
It is evident that the Lord Jesus trusted in God openly, since even yonder
gibing crowd proclaimed it. Some goodpeople try to exercise faith on the sly–
they practice it in snug corners and in lonely hours but they are afraid to say
much before others for fear their faith should not see the promise fulfilled.
They dare not say, with David, “My soul shall make her boastin the Lord–the

31. humble shall hear thereof and be glad.” This secrecyrobs God of His honor.
Brethren, we do not glorify our God as He ought to be glorified. Let us trust
in Him and own it. Why should we be ashamed? Let us throw down the gauge
of battle to earth and Hell. God, the true and faithful, deserves to be trusted
without limit.
Trust your all with Him and be not ashamed of having done so. Our Savior
was not ashamed of trusting in His God. On the Cross He cried, “You did
make Me hope when I was upon My mother’s breast.” Jesus lived by faith.
We are sure that He did, for in the Epistle to the Hebrews He is quoted as
saying, “I will put my trust in Him.” If so glorious a Personageas the only
begottenSon of God lived here by faith in God, how are you and I to live
exceptby trust in God? If we live unto God, this is the absolute necessityof
our spiritual life–“the just shall live by faith.” Shall we be ashamedof that
which brings life to us?
The cruel ones who saw Jesus die did not say, “He now and then trusted in
God.” Nor, “He trusted in the Lord years ago.” Theyadmitted that faith in
God was the constanttenor of His life–they could not deny it. Even though,
with malicious cruelty, they turned it into a taunt, yet they did not casta
question upon the fact that, “He trusted in God.” Oh, I want you to live that
those who dislike you most may nevertheless know that you trust in God!
When you come to die, may your dear children sayof you, “Our dear mother
did trust in the Lord”!
May that boy who has gone furthest awayfrom Christ and grievedyour heart
the most, nevertheless sayin his heart, “There may be hypocrites in the world
but my dear father does truly trust in God”!Oh, that our faith may be known
unmistakably! We do not wish it to be advertised to our own honor. That is
the farthestthing from our minds. But yet we would have it knownthat others
may be encouragedand that God may be glorified. If nobody else trusts in
God, let us do so. And thus may we uplift a testimony to the honor of His
faithfulness. When we die, may this be our epitaph–“He trusted in God.”
David, in the twenty-secondPsalm, represents the enemies as saying of our
Lord–“He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver Him.” This practical
faith is sure to be knownwherever it is in operation, because it is exceedingly
rare. Multitudes of people have a kind of faith in God but it does not come to
the practicalpoint of trusting that God will deliver them. I see upon the
newspaperplacards, Startling News!People in the Planets!“ Not a very
practicaldiscovery. For many a day there has been a tendency to refer God’s
promises and our faith to the planets, or somewhere beyond this present
everyday life.

32. We sayto ourselves, “Ohyes, God delivers His people.” We mean that He did
so in the days of Moses and possibly He may be doing so now in some obscure
island of the sea. Ah me, the glory of faith lies in its being fit for everyday
wear. Can it be said of you, “He trusted in God, that He would deliver him”?
Have you faith of the kind which will make you lean upon the Lord in
poverty, in sickness, in bereavement, in persecution, in slander, in contempt?
Have you a trust in God to bear you up in holy living at all costs andin active
service even beyond your strength? Can you trust in God definitely about this
and that? Can you trust about food and raiment, and home? Can you trust
God even about your shoes, that they shall be iron and brass? And about the
hairs of your head that they are all numbered? What we need is less theory
and more actualtrust in God.
The faith of the text was personal–“thatHe would deliver Him.” Blessedis
that faith which can reachits arm of compassionaroundthe world but that
faith must begin at home. Of what use were the longestarm if it were not fixed
to the man himself at the shoulder If you have no faith about yourself, what
faith can you have about others? “He trusted on the Lord that He would
deliver Him.” Come, Beloved, have you such a faith in the living God? Do you
trust in God through Christ Jesus that He will save you? Yes, you poor,
unworthy One, the Lord will deliver you if you trust Him. Yes, poor Woman,
or unknown Man, the Lord can help you in your present trouble and in every
other and He will do so if you trust Him to that end. May the Holy Spirit lead
you to first trust the Lord Jesus forthe pardon of sin, and then to trust in God
for all things.
Let us pause a minute. Let a man trust in God. Not in fiction, but in fact, and
he will find that he has solid rock under his feet. Let him trust about his own
daily needs and trials and rest assuredthat the Lord will actually appear for
him and he will not be disappointed. Such a trust in God is a very reasonable
thing. Its absence is most unreasonable. If there is a God, He knows all about
my case.If He made my ears He can hear me. If He made my eyes He can see
me. And therefore He perceives my condition. If He is my Father, as He says
He is, He will certainly care for me and will help me in my hour of need. Is
there anything unreasonable, then, in trusting in God that He will deliver us?
I venture to say that if all the forces in the universe were put togetherand all
the kindly intents of all who are our friends were put togetherand we were
then to rely upon those united forces and intents we should not have a
thousandth part so much justification for our confidence as when we depend
upon God, whose intents and forces are infinitely greaterthan those of all the
world beside. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

33. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” If you view
things in the white light of pure reason, it is infinitely more reasonable to trust
in the living God than in all His creatures put together.
Certainly, dear Friends, it is extremely comfortable to trust in God. I find it so
and therefore encourage youto roll your burden upon the Lord since He will
sustain you. We know Him to be faithful and as powerful as He is faithful.
And our dependence upon Him is the solid foundation of a profound peace.
While it is comfortable, it is also uplifting. If you trust in men, the bestof men,
you are likely to be loweredby your trust. We are apt to cringe before those
who patronize us. If your prosperity depends upon a person’s smile you are
tempted to pay homage even when it is undeserved. The old saying mentions a
certain personas, “knowing on which side his bread is buttered.” Thousands
are practicallydegraded by their trusting in men.
But when our reliance is upon the living God we are raisedby it and elevated
both morally and spiritually. You may bow in deepestreverence before God
and yet there will be no flattery. You may lie in the dust before the Majestyof
Heaven and yet not be dishonored by your humility. In fact, it is our greatness
to be nothing in the Presence ofthe MostHigh. This confidence in God makes
men strong. I should advise the enemy not to oppose the man who trusts in
God. In the long run he will be beaten, as Haman found it with Mordecai. He
had been warned of this by Zeresh, his wife, and his wise men, who said, “If
Mordecaiis of the seedof the Jews, before whom you have begun to fall, you
shall not prevail againsthim but shall surely fall before him.”
Contend not with a man who has God at his back. Years ago the Mentonese
desired to break away from the dominion of the Prince of Monaco. They,
therefore, drove out his agent. The prince came with his army, not a very
greatone, it is true, but still formidable to the Mentonese. I know not what the
high and mighty prince was not going to do. But the news came that the King
of Sardinia was coming up in the rear to help the Mentonese andtherefore his
lordship of Monaco very prudently retired to his own rock. When a Believer
stands out againstevil he may be sure that the Lord of Hosts will not be far
away. The enemy shall hear the dash of His horse and the blast of His trumpet
and shall flee before Him. Therefore be of goodcourage andcompel the world
to say of you, “He trusted in the Lord that He would deliver him.”
II. Secondly, I want you to follow me briefly in considering THE TEST
WHICH IS THE ESSENCE OF THE TAUNT which was hurled by the
mockers againstour Lord–“LetHim deliver Him now, if He will have Him.”

34. Such a test will come to all Believers. It may come as a taunt from enemies. It
will certainly come as a trial of your faith. The Archenemy will assuredlyhiss
out, “Let Him deliver him, seeing he delighted in Him.” This taunt has about
it the appearance ofbeing very logicaland, indeed, in a measure, so it is. If
God has promised to deliver us and we have openly professedto believe the
promise it is only natural that others should say, “Let us see whether He does
deliver him. This man believes that the Lord will help him. And He must help
him, or else the man’s faith is a delusion.”
This is the sortof testto which we ourselves would have put others before our
conversionand we cannot objectto be proved in the same manner ourselves.
Perhaps we incline to run awayfrom the ordealbut this very shrinking should
be a solemn call to us to question the genuineness of that faith which we are
afraid to test. “He trusted on the Lord,” says the enemy, “that He would
deliver him–let Him deliver him.” And surely, howevermalicious the design,
there is no escaping from the logic of the challenge. It is peculiarly painful to
have this stern inference driven home to you in the hour of sorrow.
Becauseone cannotdeny the fairness of the appeal, it is all the more trying. In
the time of depressionof spirit it is hard to have one’s faith questioned, or the
ground on which it stands made a matter of dispute. Either to be mistakenin
one’s belief, or to have no real faith, or to find the ground of one’s faith fail, is
an exceedinglygrievous thing. Yet as our Lord was not spared this painful
ordealwe must not expectto be kept clearof it and Satanknows wellhow to
work these questions till the poisonof them sets the blood on fire. “He trusted
on the Lord that He would deliver him. Let Him deliver him.” He hurls this
fiery dart into the soul till the man is sorely wounded and canscarcelyhold
his ground.
The taunt is speciallypointed and personal. It is put thus–“He trusted on the
Lord that He would deliver him–let Him deliver him.” “Do not come to us
with your fiddle-faddle about God’s helping all His chosen. Here is a man who
is one of His people, will He help him? Do not talk to us of big things about
Jehovahat the Red Sea, orin the Desertof Sinai, or God helping His people in
ages past. Here is a living man before us who trusted in Godthat He would
deliver him–let Him deliver him now.” You know how Satanwill pick out one
of the most afflicted–andpointing his fingers at him will cry–“Let Him deliver
HIM.”
Brethren, the testis fair. God will be true to every Believer. If any child of
God could be lostit would be quite enough to enable the devil to spoil all the
glory of God forever. If one promise of God to one of His people should fail,
that one failure would suffice to mar the veracity of the Lord to all eternity.

35. They would publish it in the “DiabolicalGazette,”and in every street of
Tophet they would howl it out, “Godhas failed! God has brokenHis promise!
God has ceasedto be faithful to His people!” It would then be a horrible
reproach–“He trustedin God to deliver him but He did not deliver him.”
Much emphasis lies in its being in the present tense–“He trustedin God that
He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him now.” I see You, O Lord Jesus,
You are in the wilderness, where the Fiend is saying, “If You are the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread.” No. You are nailed to the
tree–Your enemies have hemmed You in. The legionaries ofRome are at the
foot of the Cross, the scribes and Phariseesand raging Jews compass about
You. There is no escape from death for You! Hence their cry–“Let Him
deliver Him now.” Ah, Brothers and Sisters!this is how Satan assailsus, using
our presentand pressing tribulations as the barbs of his arrows. Yet here,
also, there is reasonand logic in the challenge.
If God does not deliver His servants at one time as well as another, He has not
kept His promise. For a man of Truth is always true and a promise once given
always stands. A promise cannot be broken now and then, and yet the honor
of the persongiving it be maintained by his keeping it at other times. The
word of a true man stands always good–itis goodnow. This is logic, bitter
logic, cold steellogic–logicwhich seems to cut right down your backbone and
cleave your spine. “He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver Him: let
Him deliver Him now.” Yet this hard logic can be turned to comfort. I told
you a story the other day of the brother in Guy’s Hospital to whom the
doctors said that he must undergo an operation which was extremely
dangerous.
They gave him a week to considerwhether he would submit to it. He was
troubled, for his young wife and children, and for his work for the Lord. A
friend left a bunch of flowers for him with this verse as its motto, “He trusted
in God. Let Him deliver Him now.” “Yes,” he thought, “now.” In prayer he
casthimself upon the Lord and felt in his heart, “Come on, doctors, I am
ready for you.” When the next morning came he refused to take chloroform
for he desired to go to Heaven in his senses.He bore the operation manfully
and he is yet alive. “He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver him” then
and there–andthe Lord did so. In this lies the brunt of the battle.
A Christian man may be beatenin business, he may fail to meet all demands
and then Satanyells, “Let Him deliver him now.” The poor man has been out
of work for two or three months, tramping the streets of London until he has
worn out his boots. He has been brought to his last penny. I think I hear the
laugh of the Prince of Darkness as he cries, “LetHim deliver him now.” Or

36. else the Believeris very ill in body and low in spirit and then Satanhowls,
“Let Him deliver him now.” Some of us have been in very trying positions. We
were moved with indignation because ofdeadly error and we spoke plainly
but men refusedto hear. Those we relied upon desertedus. Goodmen sought
their own ease and would not march with us and we had to bear testimony for
the despisedTruth of God alone–until we were ourselves despised.
Then the adversaryshouted, “Let Him deliver him now.” Be it so!We do not
refuse the test. Our God whom we serve will deliver us. We will not bow down
to modern thought nor worship the image which human wisdom has set up.
Our God is God both of hills and of valleys. He will not fail His servants albeit
that for a while He forbears that He may try their faith. We dare acceptthe
test and say, “Let Him deliver us now.”
BelovedFriends, we need not be afraid of this taunt if it is brought by
adversaries. For, afterall, the testwill come to us apart from any malice–forit
is inevitable. All the faith you have will be tried. I can see you heaping it up.
How rich you are!What a pile of faith! Friend, you are almost perfect! Open
the furnace door and put the heap in. Does it shrink? See how it shrivels! Is
there anything left? Bring here a magnifying glass. Is this all that is left? Yes,
this is all that remains of the heap. You say, “I trusted in God.” Yes, but you
had reasonto cry, “Lord, help my unbelief.” Brethren, we have not a tithe of
the faith we think we have. But regardless, allour faith must be tested.
God builds no ships but what He sends to sea. In living, in losing, in working,
in weeping, in suffering, or in striving, God will find a fitting crucible for
every single grain of the precious faith which He has given us. Then He will
come to us and say–“Youtrusted in God that He would deliver you and you
shall be delivered now.” How you will open your eyes as you see the Lord’s
hand of deliverance! What a man of wonders you will be when you tell in your
riper years to the younger people how the Lord delivered you! Why there are
some Christians I know of who, like the ancient mariner, could detain even a
wedding guestwith their stories of God’s wonders on the deep. Yes, the test
will come againand again. May the ridicules of adversaries only make us
ready for the sterner ordeals of the judgment to come.
O my dear Friends, examine your religion. You have a greatdeal of it, some of
you. But what of its quality? Can your religion stand the test of poverty, and
scandaland scorn? Canit stand the test of scientific sarcasmand learned
contempt? Will your religionstand the test of long sicknessofbody and
depressionof spirit causedby weakness?Whatare you doing amid the
common trials of life? What will you do in the swellings of Jordan? Examine
well your faith, since all hangs there. Some of us who have lain for weeks

37. together, peering through the thin veil which parts us from the unseen, have
been made to feel that nothing will suffice us but a promise which will answer
the taunt, “Let Him deliver us now.”
III. I shall finish, in the third place, dear Friends, by noticing THE ANSWER
to the test. God does deliver those who trust in Him. God’s interposition for
the faithful is not a dream but a substantial reality. “Many are the afflictions
of the righteous:but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
All history proves the faithfulness of God. Those who trust Godhave been in
all sorts of troubles, but they have always been delivered. They have been
bereaved. What a horrible bereavement was that which fell to the lot of Aaron
when his two sons were struck dead for their profanity in the Presenceof
God! “And Aaron held his peace”!What Divine Grace was there! Thus will
the Lord sustainyou, also, should He take awaythe desire of your eyes with a
stroke. Grave after grave has the goodman visited till it seemedthat his whole
race was buried and yet his heart has not been broken–he has bowed his soul
before the will of the Ever BlessedOne.
Thus has the Lord delivered His afflicted one by sustaining him. In other ways
the bush has burned and yet has not been consumed. Remember the
multiplied and multiform trials of Job. Yet God sustained him to the end so
that he did not charge God foolishly but held fasthis faith in the MostHigh. If
ever you are called to the afflictions of Job you will also be called to the
sustaining Grace ofJob. Some of God’s servants have been defeatedin their
testimony. They have borne faithful witness for God but they have been
rejectedof men. It has been their lot, like Cassandra, to prophesy the truth
but not to be believed. Such was Jeremiah, who was born to a heritage of
scornfrom those whose benefit he sought. Yet he was delivered. He shrank
not from being faithful. His courage couldnot be silenced. By integrity he was
delivered.
Godly men have been despised and misrepresentedand yet have been
delivered. Remember David and his envious brothers, David and the
malignant Saul, David when his men spoke of stoning him. Yet he took off the
giant’s head. Yet he came to the throne. Yet the Lord built him a house. Some
of God’s servants have been bitterly persecutedbut God has delivered them.
Daniel came forth from the lions' den and the three holy children from the
midst of the burning fiery furnace. These are only one or two out of millions
who trusted God and He delivered them. Out of all manner of ill the Lord
delivered them. God brought this crowdof witnesses through all their trials
unto His Throne where they rest with Jesus and share the triumph of their
Masterat this very day.

38. O my timid Brothers and Sisters, nothing has happened to you but what is
common to men. Your battle is not different from the warfare of the restof
the saints. And as God has delivered them He will deliver you also, seeing you
put your trust in Him. But God’s ways of deliverance are His own. He does
not deliver according to the translationput upon “deliverance” by the ribald
throng. He does not deliver according to the interpretation put upon
“deliverance” by our shrinking flesh and blood. He delivers, but it is in His
own way. Let me remark that if God delivers you and me in the same way as
He delivered His own Son, we can have no cause of complaint. If the
deliverance which He vouchsafedto us is of the same kind as that which He
vouchsafedto the Only Begotten, we may well be content.
Well, what kind of a deliverance was that? Did the Father tear up the Cross
from the earth? Did He proceedto draw out the nails from the sacredhands
and feetof His dear Son? Did He setHim down upon that “greenhill far
away, beyond the city wall” and place in His hand a sword of fire with which
to smite His adversaries? DidHe bid the earth open and swallow up all His
foes? No. Nothing of the kind. Jehovahdid not interpose to spare His Sona
single pang. He let Him die. He let Him be taken as a dead man down from the
Cross and laid in a tomb. Jesus wentthrough with His suffering to the bitter
end. O Brothers and Sisters, this may be God’s way of delivering us! We have
trusted in God that He would deliver us. And His rendering of His promise is
that He will enable us to go through with it. We shall suffer to the last and
triumph in so doing.
Yet God’s way of delivering those who trust in Him is always the best way. If
the Fatherhad takenHis Son down from the Cross what would have been the
result? Redemption unaccomplished, salvationwork undone and Jesus
returning with His life-work unfinished. This would not have been deliverance
but defeat. It was much better for our Lord Jesus to die. Now He has paid the
ransom for His electand having accomplishedthe greatpurpose of atonement
He has slept a while in the heart of the earth and now has ascendedto His
Throne in the endless glories ofHeaven. It was deliverance of the fullest kind.
For from the pangs of His death have come the joys of life to His redeemed. It
is not God’s will that every mountain should be leveled, but that we should be
the strongerfor climbing the Hill Difficulty. God will deliver. He must deliver,
but He will do it in our cases,as in the case ofour Lord, in the bestpossible
manner.
He will deliver His chosen–the taunt of the Adversary shall not cause our God
to forget or forego His people. I know that the Lord will no more fail me than
any other of His servants. He will not leave a faithful witness to his

39. adversaries. “Iknow that my Avenger lives and that He shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroythis body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall
behold and not another; though my reins be consumedwithin.”
Is this also your confidence? Thendo not sit down in sorrow and act as though
you despaired. Quit yourselves like men. Be strong, fear not. Castyourselves
on the love that never changes and never faints and the Lord will answerall
the reviling of Rabshakehandthe blustering of Sennacherib.
There are times when we may use this text to our comfort. “Let Him deliver
Him now,” says the text, “if He will have Him.” You, dear Friends, who have
never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ before, how I wish you could try Him
now! You feel this morning full of sin and full of need. Come, then, and trust
the Saviornow. See whetherHe will not save you now. Is there one day in the
year in which Jesus cannotsave a sinner? Come and see whether the 17 th of
June is that day.Try whether He will not deliver you now from the guilt, the
penalty, the power of sin. Why not come? You have never, perhaps, been in
the Tabernacle before and when coming here this morning you did not think
of finding the Savior.
Oh, that the Saviormay find you! Jesus Christ is a Saviorevery day, all the
year round. Whoevercomes to Him shall find eternallife now. “Oh,” you say,
“I am in such an unfit state. I am clothedin carelessnessand godlessness.”
Come along, Man, come along, just as you are. Tarry not for improvement or
arrangement–forboth of these Jesus will give you. Come and put your trust in
the greatSacrifice forsin and He will deliver you–deliver you now. Lord, save
the sinner, now!
Others of you are the children of God but you are in peculiar trouble. Well,
what are you going to do? You have always trusted in God before–are you
going to doubt Him now? “O my dear Sir, you do not know my distress. I am
the most afflicted personin the Tabernacle.”Be it so. But you trusted in the
Lord the past twenty years and I do not believe that you have seenany just
cause for denying Him your confidence now. Did you say that you have known
him from your youth up? What? You are seventy years of age!Then you are
too near Home to begin distrusting your heavenly Father. That will never do.
You have been to sea and have weatheredmany a storm in mid-ocean and are
you now going to be drowned in a ditch? Think not so. The Lord will deliver
you even now.
Do not let us suppose that we have come where boundless love and infinite
wisdom cannot reachus. Do not fancy that you have leapedupon a ledge of

40. rock so high as to be out of reachof the everlasting arm. If you had done so I
would still cry–Throw yourself down into the arms of God and trust that He
will not let you be destroyed. It may be that some of us are in trouble about
the Church and the faith. We have defended God’s Truth as wellas we could
and spokenout againstdeadly error. But craft and numbers have been
againstus and at present, things seemto have gone wrong. The goodare timid
and the evil are false. Theysay, “He trusted in God: let Him deliver him
now.” Sirs, He will deliver us now. We will throw our soulonce more into this
battle and see if the Lord does not vindicate His Truth. If we have not spoken
in God’s name we are content to go back to the dust from where we sprang.
But if we have spokenGod’s Truth, we defy the whole confederacyto prevail
againstit.
Perhaps I speak to some missionary who is mourning over a time of greattrial
in a mission which is dear to his heart. Ah, dear Friend! Christ intended that
the Gospelshould repeatHis own experience and then should triumph like
Himself. The Gospellives by being killed and conquers by defeat. Castit
where you will, it always falls upon its feet. You need not be afraid of it under
any trial. Just now the wisdom of man is its worstfoe, but the Lord will
deliver it now. The Gospellives and reigns. Tellit among the heathen that the
Lord reigns!
The same day in which Jesus died He took with Him into His kingdom and
His inmost Paradise a thief who had hung at His side. He lives and reigns
forever and everand calls to Himself whomsoeverHe has chosen. Let us
drown the taunts of the adversary with our shouts of Hallelujah, The Lord
shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Amen!
RICH CATHERS
Matthew 27:11-44
Thursday Evening Bible Study
July 5, 2007
Introduction

41. Jesus has been betrayed and arrested. He’s stoodtrial before the Jewish
Sanhedrin and was condemned to death for claiming to be the Sonof God. He
is now being sent to Pontius Pilate.
:11-14 Jesus before Pilate
:11 Now Jesus stoodbefore the governor. And the governor askedHim,
saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" So Jesussaidto him, "It is as you
say."
:12 And while He was being accusedby the chief priests and elders, He
answerednothing.
:13 Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify
against?"
:14 But He answeredhim not one word, so that the governormarveled
greatly.
This was another of the prophecies fulfilled:
(Isa 53:7 NKJV) He was oppressedand He was afflicted, Yet He openednot
His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheepbefore its
shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
For centuries the skeptics saidthat Pontius Pilate was not a real person. This
was because they had not found any archaeologicalevidence regarding him.
But when the archaeologists were excavating the theaterin Caesarea, they
turned over one of the stones in the benches and found the inscription
“Tiberius Pius Pilatus Judea”, which meant that Pontius Pilate was the
governorof Judea in the time of Tiberius.
Luke tells us that at one point, Pilate will try and pass the buck to Herod by
sending Jesus to Herod for sentencing, but Herod doesn’t know what to do
with Jesus eitherand sends Jesus back to Pilate.
John gives us a few more details of what happened in the Praetorium between
Jesus and Pilate:
(John 18:28-38 NKJV) Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium,
and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium,
lest they should be defiled, but that they might eatthe Passover. {29}Pilate
then went out to them and said, "What accusationdo you bring againstthis
Man?" {30} They answeredand said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we
would not have delivered Him up to you." {31} Then Pilate said to them, "You
take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews saidto
him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," {32} that the saying of

42. Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would
die.
If Jesus were put to death by the Jews, He would have been stoned. Yet Jesus
spoke of being crucified, not stoned.
{33} Then Pilate enteredthe Praetorium again, calledJesus, and said to Him,
"Are You the King of the Jews?" {34}Jesus answeredhim, "Are you
speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"
{35} Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests
have delivered You to me. What have You done?" {36} Jesus answered, "My
kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants
would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews;but now My
kingdom is not from here." {37} Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king
then?" Jesus answered, "Yousay rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was
born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness
to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." {38}Pilate said to
Him, "Whatis truth?" And when he had saidthis, he went out againto the
Jews, andsaid to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.
Pilate couldn’t figure out why the Jews had a problem with Jesus. He could
find no fault with Him.
:15-26 Jesus takes Barabbas’place
:15 Now at the feastthe governorwas accustomedto releasing to the
multitude one prisoner whom they wished.
:16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner calledBarabbas.
Barabbas – His name means “a son of a father”
We don't know too much about him. Mark tells us:
(Mark 15:7 NKJV) And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained
with his fellow rebels;they had committed murder in the rebellion.
John also tells us (John 18:40) that he was a robber as well.
:17 Therefore, whenthey had gatheredtogether, Pilate said to them, "Whom
do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, orJesus who is calledChrist?"
It seems that Pilate is trying to make it easyfor the people to let Jesus be
released. Who would you want released, a man condemned for murder, or a
man who healedpeople?
:18 Forhe knew that they had handed Him over because ofenvy.

43. There may have been other reasons whythe Jewishleaders wantedJesus
dead, but this was the one that Pilate was aware of.
Lesson
Envy
envy – phthonos – envy; one suggestionis that the word comes from –
phtheiro – to corrupt, to destroy; it has been defined as:“a feeling of
resentment and jealousytowardothers because oftheir possessionsorgood
qualities”
We’ve seenhow Rachel’s envy of Leah brought tons of strife into Jacob’s
family:
(Gen 30:1 NKJV) Now when Rachelsaw that she bore Jacobno children,
Rachelenvied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!"
Solomonwrites,
(Prov 14:30 NKJV) A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to
the bones.
James links envy with “self-seeking”
(James 3:14 NKJV) But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your
hearts, do not boastand lie againstthe truth.
(James 3:16 NKJV) For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusionand
every evil thing are there.
Illustration
There’s an old legendabout a greedyman and an envious man who were
walking along when they were overtakenby a strangerwho got to know them.
And after a bit he said, as he departed from them, that he would give eachof
them a gift. Whoever made a wish first would get what he wanted, and the
other would geta double portion of what the first had askedfor. The greedy
man knew what he wanted, but he was afraid to make his wish because he
wanted the double portion for himself and didn’t want the other to get it. And
the envious man felt the same way, and he was also unwilling to wish first.
After a while the strongerof the two grabbed the other by the throat and said
he would choke him to death unless he made his wish. And at that the other
man said, “Very well. I make my wish—I wish to be made blind in one eye.”
Immediately he lostthe sight of one eye, and his companion went blind in
both.
Envy can creepinto anyone’s heart, even some of the greatmen of God…

44. Illustration
F. B. Meyerwas pastorof Christ’s Church in London at the same time that G.
Campbell Morganwas pastor of WestministerChapel and Charles H.
Spurgeonwas pastor of the MetropolitanChapel. Both Morganand Spurgeon
often had much larger audiences than did Meyer. Troubled by envy, Meyer
confessedthat not until he began praying for his colleagues did he have peace
of heart. “When I prayed for their success,”saidMeyer, “the result was that
God filled their churches so full that the overflow filled mine, and it has been
full since.”
Illustration
Discouragementcomes whenyou try to start with what you wish you had but
don’t have. And it intensifies when you insist on trying to be in a position you
are not in and probably never will be in.
-- Stuart Briscoe,Bound ForJoy, RegalBooks1975, 1984,p. 95
Illustration
Paul Eldridge writes,
What we have not poisons what we have--. Our urge to acquire things is due
less to the passionto possess themthan to the vanity of feeling superior to
those who envy our possessionof them--. Envy transmutes other people’s base
metals into gold--. Our envy is the yeastthat swells the fortune of others--. No
form of hatred is as keenas envy. It magnifies the importance of our enemy—
and belittles our own.
God’s desire is that we learn the secretofcontentment:
(Phil 4:10-13 NASB) But I rejoicedin the Lord greatly, that now at last you
have revived your concernfor me; indeed, you were concernedbefore, but
you lackedopportunity. {11} Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to
be content in whatever circumstances Iam. {12} I know how to getalong with
humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secretofbeing filled and going hungry, both
of having abundance and suffering need. {13} I can do all things through Him
who strengthens me.
:19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying,
"Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things
today in a dream because ofHim."
his wife – There is a historicaltradition that Pilate’s wife was named Claudia
Procula. She was the granddaughter of CaesarAugustus and the adopted

45. daughter of Tiberius Caesar. Traditionhas it that she had converted to
Judaism and after the death of Jesus she became a Christian. The Eastern
Orthodox church considers her a “saint”.
Some suggestthat she is mentioned as being with Paul in Rome when he
writes 2Tim. 4:21.
(2 Tim 4:21 NKJV) Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets
you, as wellas Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.
just – dikaios – righteous, observing divine laws;innocent, faultless, guiltless
Pilate’s wife had an idea that Jesus was someone special.
:20 But the chief priests and elders persuadedthe multitudes that they should
ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
It hasn’t even been a full week since the crowds had been cheering Jesus:
(Mat 21:9 NKJV) Then the multitudes who went before and those who
followedcried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Sonof David! 'Blessedis He who
comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"
Be careful about wanting people’s approval. The “multitude” can be fickle.
:21 The governor answeredand said to them, "Which of the two do you want
me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!"
:22 Pilate said to them, "Whatthen shall I do with Jesus who is called
Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"
Greatquestion. It’s a question that we all need to ask.
:23 Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried
out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"
:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult
was rising, he took waterand washedhis hands before the multitude, saying,
"I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it."
Pilate seemedto have had a history of not doing too well with his Jewish
subjects.
Luke records an incident regarding Pilate:
(Luke 13:1 NKJV) There were present at that seasonsome who told Him
about the Galileans whose bloodPilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
We don’t know much about the incident other than Pilate being a pretty
harsh ruler.

46. Josephus reports that, when Pilate first brought Roman troops to Jerusalem
from Caesarea,he committed an unprecedented violation of Jewish
sensibilities by allowing the troops to bring into the city their military
standards with the busts of the emperor, which were consideredidolatrous
images by the Jews;and this was done in an underhanded manner, the troops
bringing in and setting up the images by night. A massive protest
demonstration in Caesarea’sstadium forcedthe removal of the standards, but
only after the Jews usedtactics ofnonviolent mass resistance, lying down and
baring their necks whenPilate’s soldiers, swords in hand, surrounded and
attempted to disperse them.
Word got back to Tiberius Caesarthat Pilate had been defeatedby a group of
stubborn Jews.
Philo tells of an incident where Jewishletters of protest to Rome brought the
intervention of the emperor himself, who commanded Pilate to remove golden
shields with the emperor’s name on them that he had placed in his residence
in Jerusalem.
Josephus againspeaks ofprotests that broke out when Pilate appropriated
Temple funds to build an aqueduct for Jerusalem. On this occasion, Pilate had
Roman soldiers, dressedas Jewishcivilians and armed with hidden clubs,
mingle with the shouting crowd and attack the people at a prearranged signal.
Many were killed or hurt.
Apparently Tiberius Caesarhad warnedPilate that if he couldn’t keep
control of the situation in Palestine, that he would lose his job.
And so at this point in Pilate’s career, he doesn’t seemto want to upset the
Jews any more than he has to, so he decides to go along with their request, but
“washeshis hands” of the mess to indicate that he doesn’tagree with the
decision.
washedhis hands – It’s interesting that the Jews themselves hada law that
talkedabout “washing hands” as a sign of being innocent in a matter.
(Deu 21:6-7 NKJV) "And all the elders of that city nearestto the slain man
shall washtheir hands over the heifer whose neck was brokenin the valley.
{7} "Thenthey shall answerand say, 'Our hands have not shed this blood, nor
have our eyes seenit.
And now Pilate, who has been at odds with the Jews, performs something that
sounds like he’s following Jewishprotocol.
Lesson
Make a choice