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Yes, Isaiah 53, what a powerful chapter. Now, I'm not going to be building my sermon on Isaiah 53, I just wanted that read out because of course that's a great prophecy of the suffering of Christ. We will come back to Isaiah 53 toward the end of the sermon, but if you can please just turn to 1 Corinthians 11. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11 and obviously after the service tonight we're going to be sharing a church dinner together and also the Lord's Supper. We've got some pizzas getting delivered about quarter to eight, so hopefully it's not too much of a distraction, nice smell and I'm not really going to be preaching tonight. Well, I mean, I've got a sermon I guess, but I'm not really going to be preaching in that sense, I'll be doing a lot more teaching. We're going to be going through various Bible verses and I really want us to focus in, narrow in on the Lord's death. Look at 1 Corinthians 11, 24. Now, when we do the Lord's Table, we often take of the cup and of the bread, and I just want to show you here in verse number 24. You know, Jesus Christ has a very unique and special way for us to remember his death, to remember his broken body. What is it? To have the Lord's Table, to break that bread, that bread was a picture of his body. Look at verse number 25. So it says this is another way to remember my death, it's my blood. The cup represents the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we've seen his body, we've seen his blood here. And then it says in verse number 26, So when Jesus Christ says, look, this will show you my death, this is how you're going to remember my death, what does he want us to remember? His body and his blood. That is the remembrance of his death, his sacrifice, and as brother Anthony was reading through Isaiah 53, we saw that the prophecy of that suffering that Christ would go through. And so the title of the sermon tonight is The Lord's Death. The Lord's Death. As I said to you, I won't be doing much preaching. Okay, we're just going to be looking at the suffering of Christ, just remembering that, remembering the severity of his suffering, you know, just the, I guess the, you know, the fact that the seriousness of the matter, the fact that the Son of God, God himself manifest in the flesh, would die for a sinner like you and I. So let's go to Matthew 26, and I'm going to read from a lot of passages, but if you sort of stay in Matthew, and I'll get you to turn to some other passages, but Matthew, and then I'll read some other passages to you. As I said, it's more of a Bible study, we're just going through and we're just looking at the story of Christ. We know that Christ's ministry lasted for about three years. We know because the Bible records about three passovers that his ministry lasted, and of course the Passover was a yearly event. And we also know that, as we are going to take part of the Lord's Table, and Jesus Christ had the Last Supper with his disciples, and following that, he then went to the Garden of Gethsemane and started to pray. So we're going to pick it up from the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26, please, and verse number 36. Matthew 26 and verse number 36. So we're trying to bring out the suffering of Christ, okay? It says in verse number 36, Now why is it that he needs to pray? Well, look at verse number 37. This pretty much marks the beginnings of the suffering of Christ. The fact that he's full of sorrow. The fact that he's got this heaviness, this burden upon his shoulders. And, brethren, a great example that we see of Christ. You know, if you've got a great burden, if you've got great sorrow, go to prayer. That's what we see of Jesus Christ. He says, look, I've got to go to prayer. Look at verse number 38. Because I feel like I'm even going to die right here. I'm just so full of sorrow. And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, I mean, Jesus Christ knows what's going to happen. He knows he's going to be that lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And he asks God the Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. I mean, you can already see the anguish of Christ. You know, Jesus Christ says, look, he's not saying, I don't want to do this, Father. He says, but if there's just some other way, you know, if this cup can pass from me, then that's great. But then he says, but it's not my will, Lord. Your will be done. And, again, a great reminder for ourselves when we find ourselves, you know, combating with the will of God. We ought to surrender our own will and say, no, Father, you know, not my will, but thou will be done. And so this is the cup of suffering that Christ was going to receive. I'm going to quickly read to you from Luke 22. You stay there in Matthew, please. But I'll read from Luke 22, verse 41, just another passage of the same story. It says then, So the Father sends an angel to strengthen the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see the anguish of Christ here in verse number 44. You say, he's going to die. He's going to be crucified. What a great suffering. Of course it's a great suffering. But as Isaiah 53 was being read, it's not just a physical suffering. We saw that our iniquities, our sins, we've laid upon him. I mean, I can't even bear the punishment of my own iniquities, brethren. Imagine taking on the iniquities of just one extra person. Imagine, just one extra person. You wouldn't bear it. Imagine taking on the iniquities of an entire generation. Imagine taking on the iniquities of every single sinner that's ever lived and that will ever live on this earth. All that was put on Jesus Christ. The pain of sin. The consequences of sin. Not just sin, but the illnesses. All the consequences that come upon Christ was laid upon him. The physical suffering, of course, great suffering. But also what he took on emotionally and spiritually. You know, it's something we can't fathom. We just can't fathom. And you can see Christ just sweating, as it were, these great drops of blood upon the ground. Obviously, just his body's on overdrive. You know, just anguished about what he's about to suffer. You know, I heard some stupid teaching once that, you know, Jesus Christ, he was just so excited! To just die on that cross! You know? I mean, that doesn't sound like what we're reading here. I mean, he says, look, if there's another way, Father, you know? But no, he says, no, I've got to deal with my Father. I mean, he knows that's why he came. He came to die for us. Now, I'm going to also read to you from John 18. Because after the passage, after the prayer there in the Garden of Gethsemane, you may recall the chief priests sent their servants to go and arrest Jesus Christ. And, you know, some of the disciples put up a fight, especially Simon Peter. You know, took a sword and cut off the ear of one of those servants. And Jesus Christ, of course, heals that man. But as they came to arrest him, it says in John 18, verse 11, Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword unto the sheaf. Then he says these words, The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him. So even though Jesus Christ at one point was saying, Lord, if there's just some other way, let this cup pass. You can see at this point he's accepted it. No. You know what? The Father has given me this cup. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Because the Father wants to give me this cup of suffering, I'm going to drink it, Peter. We don't need to fight against this. This is the will of the Father. All right. You're there in Matthew 26. Let's drop down to verse number 57. Drop down to number 57. So Jesus Christ is arrested and is brought before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin is a terminology used for the chief priests, the high priests, the religious leaders of that time, basically. But it says here in Matthew 26, verse number 57, false witnesses witnessed against Jesus to put him to death. So what else is Jesus Christ dealing with now? False witnesses against him. People saying that Christ has done certain things that he's not done. Verse number 60, So their witnesses or their accusations against Christ were just so ridiculous. You know, it didn't line up. But then it says here, Now remember when we read Isaiah 53, it said that Christ would be dumb. He would not open his mouth. And that's exactly it. Answer us now. Nothing. What is it which these witnesses against thee? But Jesus held his peace. See, Jesus Christ was ready to accept the sacrifice. He wasn't trying to fight for himself. He wasn't trying to fight for his rights. He wasn't looking for justice, because justice would have required him to be let go. He had done nothing wrong. He held his peace. Thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Look at this. Now we start to see some of the suffering. Not just the witnesses, not just the words that are being used against him. Then it says in verse number 67, This means they beat him. They beat him up. So we start seeing, I mean, think about our Savior being spat on in his face. I mean, it's just crazy. Being beaten, alright? And Jesus Christ has taken it, taken the cup that the Father had given him. Now there is another passage that I want you to turn to. Keep your finger there in Matthew and please go to Exodus chapter 29. Exodus chapter number 29. The fact that Christ will be taken from the Garden of Gethsemane, brought into Jerusalem before the priests. You know, this isn't just sort of this random event that took place. Okay? It's actually the fulfillment of what we're about to read. You know, in the Old Testament, we saw many types of sacrifices, offerings that would be given. And we know that that would picture Jesus Christ. And we're about to read about the sin offering. So I want to contrast the process of the sin offering with the sacrifice and the death of Jesus Christ. Look at Exodus 29 verse 10. Exodus 29 verse number 10. Don't forget Christ is taken, brought before the priests. Okay? And what do they do with their hands? They beat him. They beat him. Okay? They smote him. In Exodus 29 verse 10. Aaron is the high priest. His sons are the priests. Now of course by placing their hands upon the bullock, they're not beating the animal. Okay? They're just resting their hands upon that creature. And look at verse number 11. So of course they would then, once they placed their hands upon the creature, they would then kill the animal. Now we already saw when Christ was brought before the high priests. They laid their hands upon him, but obviously in a very different way. You know, beating him. Spitting upon his face. And then they announced that he is guilty of death. They announced he was guilty of death. Okay? But here's the thing. Back in those days, because Judea was under Roman power, they did not have the authority to kill. Okay? That they could proclaim he's guilty of death, but then they needed to go to the Romans to ask for permission to put Jesus to death. They did not have that authority within themselves anymore. Okay? So this is why then the chief priests would take Jesus and lead him to Pontius Pilate, who was the governor over Judea at this period of time. And because it was during the time of the Passover, Pontius Pilate was in Jerusalem, because it's a great feast, and of course, you know, people would often travel into Jerusalem for these celebrations. So go back to Matthew. Keep your finger there in Exodus 29, please, because we are going to come back to it. Keep your finger there in Exodus 29. Matthew 27. Matthew 27 now, verse number 1. All right? Now, so I just want to show you that. They took him to Pontius Pilate because they could not kill Christ themselves, okay? Now, I'm going to quickly read to you from John 18, verse 29. You stay there. John 18, verse 29 says, to put any man to death. So now you understand why, okay? If he's offended you guys, then you do whatever you have to do with your laws, and they're like, well, our law says to kill him. We want to kill him, you know, but we're not allowed to do that. So this is why they brought him to Pontius Pilate, okay? Again, when we look at the sin offering, the bullock was brought before the priests. They laid their hands upon it, but then obviously they had the authority to kill an animal, okay? It'd be slain at that point. And that's the next step they're trying to do, you know? And of course, these wicked priests, they don't know. They're actually carrying out the types, the pictures that take place in the Old Testament, but that's how God does it, you know? God has this wonderful way of combining the entire Bible to be Christ-centric, all right? So if you want, you can turn to Luke 23 because I'm going to read a few passages from here, but don't forget, stay there in Matthew 27 and stay there in Exodus 29 if you can, if you've got that many fingers, okay, or bookmarks. But Luke 23, Luke 23, verse number 6. Luke 23 and verse number 6. Luke 23, verse number 6. When Pilate heard of Galilee, so he asked basically about Jesus Christ. Where is he from? They saved Galilee. So when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time, again, because of the feast, okay? And when Herod saw Jesus, so Pilate then sends him to Herod. He goes, Pilate doesn't want to deal with Jesus. Like, he doesn't think it's that big of a deal. He goes, just send him to Herod then, all right? I've got bigger things to deal with, is Pilate's thoughts here, okay? So he takes him to Herod. Verse number 8. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see him of a long time, because he had heard many things of him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words, and he answered him nothing. Again, Jesus being silent, okay? Look at this, verse number 10. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him, and Herod with his men of war, his men of war are the soldiers, obviously, so Herod with his soldiers set him at naught. So to set someone at naught, the word naught is the word zero, okay? So they treated Jesus like nothing. They treated Jesus like zero, okay? And mocked him and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate. I don't know if you've spent your own time sort of looking at the chronology of Christ, okay? It's kind of like nobody just wants to deal with Christ, okay? I mean, they belittle him, they mock him, you know, they put on this nice robe on him to make him look important or whatever it is, you know, and Christ is just silent the whole way through. So he gets brought before Herod. Herod, you know, well, he just sends him back to Pilate, okay? Now, let's keep going there. Luke 23, look at verse number 17. So he's brought back to Pilate, and then, you know, Pilate's like, man, you know, Jesus Christ, he's done nothing. He's done nothing deserving to be put to death. And so because of the custom of that time, he asks the people, look, you know, he's got a Jewish prisoner known as Barabbas, you know, and he thinks, well, you know what, if I asked him, do you guys want me to release Barabbas or do you want me to release Jesus? He's expecting that the Jews are going to say, well, Jesus, of course, okay? And then that would be over. Like, that would be the end of it all, you know? You know, Jesus Christ would be out of the hands of Pilate. But let's have a look at what happens here in Luke 23, verse 17. For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast. So that's the tradition they had of releasing a prisoner. And they cried out, all at once saying, away with this man and release unto us Barabbas. So who is Barabbas? It says here in verse number 19, who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder was cast into prison. So Barabbas is a cold-blooded murderer, all right? And he gives them the choice. Do you want Jesus or, you know, who is not worthy of death or do you want Barabbas, the murderer? They choose Barabbas, okay? They choose Barabbas. I mean, think about that. Think about our Lord Jesus Christ, who's the perfect Lamb of God without sin, and then the people of the land are saying, well, we'd rather Barabbas, we'd rather a murderer than the Son of God. Verse number 20, Pilate therefore willing to release Jesus. That was his will. That's what he really wanted to do. Spake again to them. They said, are you sure? Are you sure you want Barabbas? But they cried saying, crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. Now, why would he have to chastise Jesus? I mean, he's saying Jesus is innocent, but just to satisfy their blood lust, he said, all right, I'll chastise him and let him go. You know, he thinks that's going to be enough. Verse number 23, and they were innocent with loud voices requiring that he might be crucified and the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. Okay, they got the better of Pilate, okay? And you can see they were being led by the chief priests. The chief priests are the ones, you know, rallying up the people to have hatred and anger toward Jesus, asking, you know, in a loud mass to crucify him and to release Barabbas. And then we see in what way Pilate chastised Jesus Christ. I'm going to read to you from John 19, okay? Verse number 1. You don't need to turn there if you don't want to. As I said, I'm just reading through this. Just thinking about the sufferings of Christ here. John 19, verse 1. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. Okay? That's another way of saying he whipped Christ. I mean, when I think of chastising my kids, I get a rod on their bottom, one or two, three, maybe, you know, pretty much as far as we go, and we're done. When I think of a chast... I'm not thinking about taking down a whip and whipping someone on their back. And yet that's the chastisement that Jesus Christ took. Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. Then it says in verse number 2. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head. I mean, have you ever been pricked by a thorn? I mean, imagine an entire crown of thorns on your head, and you know when you cut your head, you know, you bleed profusely because you've got a lot of blood that gets pumped into your head for the brain. You know, usually if you get a bit of a cut on your head, you bleed a lot. It looks worse than it is. You can just imagine this blood just dripping on the face of Jesus Christ there. And they put on him a purple robe and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him with their hands. Again, they're beating Christ with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. What in the world? You just whipped the guy? You've just mocked him again? Your soldiers are beating him up? And he says once again, I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. Now, you know, I also want to now read to you from Mark 15 because it wasn't just that they put this crown of thorns upon his head and the thorns, of course, being uncomfortable causing gashes on his head. But it's more than that. In Mark 15 verse 17, it says, And they clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, and began to salute him. Hail, King of the Jews! Just mocking him that way, right? Then it says this in verse number 19. And they smote him on the head with a reed, and it spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. Again, mockingly worshipped him, okay? So it's not like they just put a crown of thorns on his head. They took a reed, they took some flexible branch or, you know, whatever you want, and just started beating Christ on the head after having the crown of thorns upon him. Just beating him on the head, digging those thorns more into his flesh. You know, in the book of Isaiah chapter 50 verse 6, it was read earlier, but, oh, no, no, sorry, not that. You read Isaiah 53, but in Isaiah 50 verse 6, we have another prophecy of Christ about the whipping that he received. And it says in Isaiah 50 verse 6, I gave my back to the smiters. Then it says this, because this is not recorded for us in the New Testament. It says, and my cheeks, to them that plucked off the hair, I hid not my face from shame and spitting. So we already saw that they were spitting in the face of Christ. One thing that we don't pick up in the New Testament is the fact that Christ had a beard. And while this was taking place, they were grabbing his beard and ripping that off his face as well. Okay, they just plucked the hair off his face, off his cheeks. Now, if you can please go to Exodus, back to Exodus 29. Go back to Exodus 29. We're looking at the parallels of the sin offering. Because obviously at this point, Christ is bleeding. You know, we often think about the blood of Christ on the cross, but he's already bleeding. He's been taken into Jerusalem, and the bloodshed has already begun. Remember when Christ told us to remember his death? To remember his body and his blood. Okay, the blood is already pouring. Alright? And so when we look at the sin offering here in Exodus 29, verse number 12, so once they kill the bullock, it says in verse number 12, And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth thee inwards, and the coal that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. So this is what we know as the burnt offering, the burnt sacrifice. And, you know, this is where the blood starts to be applied to different areas of that temple or that tabernacle worship. And again, this is all taking place within the tabernacle, or within the temple, within Jerusalem. And within Jerusalem, again, we're starting to see the blood of Jesus Christ, obviously not systematically like was required of them, but the blood of Christ just all over the place pretty much. You know, you can just imagine it on Christ and imagine it on the soldiers that are beating him up. You know, the blood is starting to be shed there in Jerusalem. It's already started. The process has already started. And though, when we look at the sin offering, we see that now we have the burnt offering take place, this is not the end of the sacrifice yet. Okay, there's more that takes place. And so please stay there in Exodus 29 again. And you can come back to Matthew, please. Go back to Matthew, now Matthew chapter 27, Matthew chapter 27. I'm not going to read from Matthew 27 just yet. But then once Pilate is done, as he said, chastising the Lord, more like beating up, you know, the Lord. It says in Mark 15, 15, So the next process is now to take Jesus to be crucified. John 19, you say there, Matthew 27, John 19 verse 17. So think about that. Think about the fact not only was he crucified, but on his bare, bleeding back, he's now carrying that wooden cross. He's bearing that cross. We know in other passages that he couldn't make it all the way at some point. Well, at least that's my interpretation, the fact that he had to get a man named Simon to carry the cross the rest of the way, I don't think Jesus Christ was capable, you know, he was at this point. I mean, it's hard enough to carry some wooden beams on your back, let alone being whipped and beaten and have gone through this entire ordeal. So you're there in Matthew 27, now we're looking at the crucifixion. Matthew 27 verse number 33, Matthew 27 verse number 33. That is to say, a place of a skull. They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gold. And when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him. Reverend, that crucifixion, as you know, is the fact you're having nails put into your hands, nails put into your feet, you know, onto a cross. You're carrying the weight on your body upon those nails. I mean, imagine just having that. I mean, just being stabbed to some extent. I mean, the pain, but then to have that against the cross, you know, as Jesus Christ is breathing on that cross, you know, breathing in, taking things in, you know, his back, his bare back's rubbing on that cross. That's just the suffering that Christ went through. Brother Daniel, I'm getting a call, maybe the pizzas are here if you want to just open that door. I'll just read verse number 35 again. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, cast in lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they did cast lots, and sitting down they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation written, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. That's the accusation. He said he's the King of the Jews, therefore he deserves to die, and to die such a, just a gruesome, gruesome death. But this is the suffering that Jesus Christ went through for you and I. Can you please go back to Exodus 29? Exodus 29, we're looking at the process of the sin offering. Maybe just keep the door open, Brother Daniel, in case. In Exodus 29, so we already saw that the animal will be brought before the priests, the hands will be laid upon that creature, it'll be killed, the blood will be shed, okay, within the tabernacle, within that temple system, within Jerusalem. But it's, and then they would have the burnt offering, okay. But that's not the end of the sin offering. As we read here in Exodus 29 verse 14, But the flesh of the bullock and his skin and his dung shalt now burn with fire without the camp. It is a sin offering. So all the leftovers, the skin, the dung, everything else that's left from that creature would be taken outside the camp, without the camp, that's what it means, outside of the camp, and would be burnt up, burnt up to the crisp. That's the end of that sin offering process, okay. Now, if you can, this is an important passage to turn to, so please go to Hebrews 13. Please go to Hebrews 13 verse 10. Hebrews 13 verse number 10. So what is this a picture of? The fact that the leftovers, after the burnt offering, are taken outside of the camp to be burnt further, what is this a picture of? Well, in Hebrews 13 verse number 10. Hebrews 13 verse number 10. Hebrews 13 verse number 10. The Bible reads, We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle, for the bodies of those beasts, look at this, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary, the blood was shed there inside the temple, inside the tabernacle, inside Jerusalem, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary, by the high priest, for sin, look at this, are burned without the camp. So again, the bodies, the leftovers, once the blood and the burnt offering takes place, they take the leftovers and they burn it without the camp. We already saw that in the book of Exodus 29, okay. So what is that about? Well, keep going, verse number 12. Wherefore Jesus also. You see, that was just a picture of Jesus. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gates or outside the gates. You see, Jesus Christ was brought into Jerusalem. His blood already started to be shed from that moment. Then he was taken outside the camp and he suffered without the gates, suffered outside of the gates of Jerusalem, when he was taken to Golgotha, crucified on the cross. So that picture, I hope you can see the parallels there. Being brought to the high priest, yet Jesus Christ was brought before the high priest. The high priest laying their hands on the sacrifice. Well, Christ was beaten, okay. Then his blood started to be shed within Jerusalem. The picture of the blood inside the tabernacle, okay, being shed. And then the leftovers taken outside of the camp, without the camp, or picture of Christ being taken without the gate, outside the gate, suffering on the cross. On the hill of Calvary. Now, I'm going to read to you from Mark 15, Mark 15. And if you can please turn to Isaiah 53, where we had the reading from. Turn to Isaiah 53. Mark 15 verse 27, Mark 15 verse 27, you're going to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, Mark 15 verse 27 says, And with him they crucify two thieves, the one on his right hand and the other on his left. Now notice the next words, okay. So he's crucified amongst thieves. And it says here, and the scripture was fulfilled. You say, what scripture was fulfilled? Let's keep going there. Which saith, and he was numbered with the transgressors. Okay, so as is crucified with these thieves, he's numbered with the transgressors. He's not a transgressor himself, but he's amongst the transgressors. He's numbered amongst them. And they that pass by railed on him, save thyself and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking, said among themselves with the scribes, he saved others, himself he cannot save. So he's out there on the cross. And they're just mocking, people walking past. The priests were, he can save others, he says he can save others, he can't even save himself. The mocking that Christ took, being numbered amongst the transgressors, being seen as a wicked sinner. And yet we know he was a perfect Lamb of God. Now you're in Isaiah 53 for a reason. Because when we said, and the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, and he was numbered with the transgressors. This comes from Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 verse 10. I'm not going to read all of Isaiah 53. It speaks for itself. But look at verse number 10. And we know that Christ was bruised because he was beaten. So obviously Christ is, what's a bruise in? It's broken capillaries, isn't it? The fact that Christ is bruised all over, all over his body. He has put him to grief. See, this was good in the eyes of God. I mean, did the Father, did it hurt the Father to see the Son suffering? Of course. But the fact that this would be the way he would redeem mankind. He would obviously please the Lord that this would be the way, the blood sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse number 11. So don't forget that. We're looking at the physical suffering of Christ. But he's there on the cross. He's bearing our iniquities. The sins you've committed today was put on Christ right then, right there and then. He suffered for that. He dealt with God's wrath upon him because of your sin, my sin. Look at verse number 12, Isaiah 53, 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because he has poured out his soul unto death. What is this? Pouring out the soul unto death? What is this about? We already saw when Christ says to remember his death, he says, remember, my blood and my body. And notice the next words. And he was numbered with the transgressors. So what are we reading about? Isaiah 53, it's all about the cross. It's what Isaiah 53 was all about. Christ suffering, being led to the cross and suffering on the cross. And when the Father saw the soul of Jesus Christ being poured unto death, it was when he was numbered with the transgressors. When he was crucified on that cross. The end of the sin offering, as it were. That process that we saw earlier in Exodus. Can you please turn to Luke 23? Turn to Luke 23. I hope you're still there in Matthew 27, because we are going to come back to that. But Luke 23. Now for the sake of time, I'm going to read to you from the book of Luke. Luke 23. Luke 23. Luke 23. Luke 23. Luke 23. Now for the sake of time, you know when we saw that people were passing by while Christ was on the cross and people were mocking him and railing against him. You know both thieves were actually mocking Christ as well. Both thieves. Both thieves were railing on Christ. Sometimes we have this idea that there was one bad thief and one good thief. No, they were both bad. They both deserved to die and they were both mocking Christ. What a strange way to go. I'm dying and I'll mock the guy next to me. I mean it's just crazy mindset there. And I could just understand that Christ would... You would think that Christ would not forgive them. You would think. And we know that Christ asked the Father to forgive them for they know not what they do. But what I love about this story in Luke 23 is the fact that one of these malefactors. One of these thieves that was mocking Christ turns around in verse... Well let's keep listening to this story. Verse number 39. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? This guy wakes up to himself. He goes, man, we're about to die. We should fear God. Why are you mocking this guy? We're about to die like him. And then it says this in verse number 41. And we indeed justly... He goes, it's just for us to die for the crimes that we've committed. So what do we see here? He recognizes himself a sinner. He says, I deserve to die. Yes I do. Okay, I'm a sinner. Justly. The right thing, what I'm deserving of, the right thing is that I would die. And then it says, for we receive the due reward for our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss. He says, no, Jesus Christ is sinless. He's perfect. And he said unto Jesus, I love these words, Lord. What? To say Lord, you're not just saying, hey mate. You're saying, Lord, you've got authority, Jesus. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Hey, this thief has woken up to himself. You know, he knows that Jesus is about to die. But he says, actually, I know you're going to your kingdom. He knows who Jesus is. Even though mockingly they've got the king of the Jews above his head, he goes, no, this is the king. He says, can you remember me when you go into your kingdom, Lord? And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, truly, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. This man went to heaven. What? And that's what salvation is, brethren. This man, what good could he do? He never attended a church service. He never got baptised. What did he do? He just said, Lord, remember me. I'm trusting you. I know you've got your king. I know you're coming back. I know you're going to come back in your kingdom and just please remember me. You know, the thought I get is, can you just remember me so I can just sweep the floor? You know, just sometimes remember who I am because I want to be there in your kingdom as well. You know, I don't know if you've completely realised that he had actually become a child of God, okay? Much greater than any kind of janitor position you might have in the kingdom of God. He'd be saved and it boggles my mind. I would think that Christ would not want to forgive any single one that put this pain upon him and yet he was quick to forgive and accept him. And this man, this malefactor, this thief was saved that very day, you know? Praise God for salvation. Praise God. You know, that's what it's all about. We remember his death so we can appreciate the great salvation that we have. Back to Matthew 27, verse 45. Matthew 27, verse 45. And I'll finish up here. Matthew 27, verse 45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? For the very first time, the son is forsaken by the father. What we read about Jesus, he became sin for us. He became the curse for us. God's wrath, God's anger fell upon Jesus. And we know that God cannot have sin in his presence. Therefore we have this separation between father and son. I mean, just a pain that would cause Christ. Just that alone. It's just hard to appreciate, hard to understand. Some of them that stood there when they had heard that said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be and let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And so we have the death of the Lord Jesus Christ take place right there. All right, brethren. That's it. It wasn't really a sermon. It wasn't really preaching. Just wanted us to do a little study there leading up to the death of Christ. And as we participate of dinner tonight and the Lord's table, enjoy the fellowship. But don't forget to be a little somber, a little bit serious about what we've just read about. What we're remembering when we're taking part of the Lord's table. At the same time, let it be a time of rejoicing, knowing that this is something that pleased God. This is God's way of salvation and that He's done it for you and I. We don't deserve it. We should be just like that thief that says, Man, we do justly. We die justly. No, Jesus Christ steps in. And it's just a matter of simple faith in Christ that saves each one of us. Praise God. If we were to die today, today there shall be with me in paradise. Salvation. Praise God. Let's pray.