(Matthew 27.)MAT 27
Matt. 27:1:2. In the morning the chief priests and elders of the people formally condemn the Lord to death. They bound Him and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate, the Gentile ruler (Matt. 20:18- 19).
Matt. 27:3-10. Judas, in despair at seeing Him condemned, repented himself. He no doubt thought he would get the money, and that the Lord would deliver Himself out of their hands. It was not godly sorrow for sin. It was the sorrow of the world that works death (2 Cor. 7:10); he went and hanged himself. His guilty conscience is another witness to the guilt of the Jewish leaders and to the Lord's innocence. The priests, full of religious scruples, could not put the money into the treasury; they buy a field that is a perpetual monument to their guilt in selling the Lord their King. It was a place to bury Gentiles in. Truly the Gentiles came to rich blessing through it. Zech. 11:12-13 is fulfilled.
Matt. 27:11-18. The question before the chief priest was, "Art Thou the Son of God?" The question before the Gentile ruler is, "Art Thou the King of the Jews?" He answers, "Thou sayest." To all their accusations He answers nothing, so that the governor marveled greatly.
Pilate has another, a notable prisoner, Barabbas. He knew the envy of the Jews, and said, "Which will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas or Jesus which is called Christ?"
Matt. 27:19-24. Pilate's wife now adds her testimony, warning her husband to have nothing to do with that just Man, for she had suffered many things that day because of Him. The chief priests and elders persuade the multitude to ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus, and to Pilate's question, "What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ?" they all say unto him, "Let Him be crucified," but there is no justice in it. Pilate says, "Why, what evil hath He done?" And again, with louder shout, they answer, "Let Him be crucified."
Pilate, who should have carried out righteousness, as the ruler of the people, washed his hands, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it." What will he do when he stands before Christ to be judged?
Matt. 27:25-26. But the people are willing to take the guilt upon themselves, and say, "His blood be on us, and on our children." Abel's blood called for vengeance; the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, speaks infinite, eternal blessing to all who believe upon Him, but terrible judgment to those who reject Him (Heb. 10:29).
Matt. 27:26. They get their choice-"Barabbas" (which means son of the father)-a true child of the devil, like themselves (John 8:44). Then he scourged Jesus-made furrows on His back (Psa. 129:3)-and delivered Him to be crucified.
Matt. 27:27-32. The soldiers now display their brutality and enmity of heart. Gathering all their band, they strip Him, and array Him in mock glory; a scarlet robe, and a crown of thorns, a reed for a scepter in His right hand, and bowing the knee before Him, mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. After that they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
He endures it all in patient submission. His obedience was perfect. He bore it all without relief, doing the Father's will.
John tells us He bearing His cross went forth; here Simon of Cyrene is compelled to bear it. An old writer says, "The decreed burden of every saint." Afterward, Simon would feel it was an honor God had put upon him. Each one is shown out in his real character here by the Lord. Everything finds its true place as it touches Him.
Matt. 27:33-54. It is the place of execution. He refuses the stupefying cup. He will not avoid the suffering entailed in His path as the One doing the Father's will. Psa. 22 is His experience now, also Psa. 69 and others. The Jews must bear the shame; their King was rejected and suffering, yet they revile and insult Him. Their hearts and the malefactors speak alike. But the deep anguish of the Lord grows deeper still. The depth of all His sufferings, who could conceive as wave after wave broke upon Him! As another has said, "His heart, His soul-the vessel of a divine love-could alone go deeper than the bottom of that abyss which sin had opened for man, to bring up those who lay there, after that He had endured its pains in His own soul." A heart that had been ever faithful was forsaken of God. Where sin had brought man, love brought the Lord, but with a nature and an apprehension in which there was no distance, no separation, so that it should be felt in all its fullness. No one but He who was in that place could fathom or feel it.
It is also a wonderful spectacle to see the One righteous Man in the world declare at the end of His life that He was forsaken of God. But thus it was He glorified Him as none else could have done-made sin, in the presence of God as such with no veil to hide, no mercy to cover or bear it with."
"Himself He could not save,
Love's stream too deeply flowed."
His enemies fulfilled the prophecies in their hatred and ignorance. He fulfilled them in suffering love, bore all the weight of the divine judgment against sin. There He made propitiation for our sins, made sin, Himself the sinless One; and at the close, out of the darkness that cry came which told of what His portion was from God as the sin bearer. Perfect as He ever was, this perfection shows itself when He says, "My God." When He was abandoned His faith remained firm. He asks "Why," but justified God in His forsaking, in the words, "But Thou art holy." Here He is the offering for sin, made sin for us; here God is glorified, His righteousness manifested. Men did not understand, and said, "He is calling for Elias." He is alone in this work of the cross. And now that the Scripture is fulfilled, His thirst quenched, He cried with a loud voice. His strength is manifest in it. He gave up the ghost, He laid down His life, a willing victim. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. God is hidden no longer; the entrance into the holy place is made manifest-the "new and living way" which God has consecrated for us through the veil.
Now we can sing:
"The veil is rent, our souls draw near
Unto a throne of grace."
Here is the witness that the Word is done, God's hand rends the veil from the top to the bottom, the sin is put away, the believer is fitted to draw near. In His love we are brought nigh through His own precious work.
The earth did quake, the rocks were rent, the graves were opened. God's power is manifest not only in creation, but also in resurrection, and Scripture tells us that after His resurrection many bodies of the saints arose, and came out of their graves, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many, witnessing that death's power is annulled by Him who died upon the cross.
No wonder the centurion, and they that were with him, were so struck that they bore witness to the greatness of His person. They feared greatly, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God."
We may yet see this chief executioner in the glory with Christ-fruit of that scene of death that made him utter this confession. It is the testimony of the far-off Gentile (Eph. 2:13).
Matt. 27:55, 56. Notice is taken of those devoted women who watched the crucifixion of tile One they loved, the Lord appreciates it fully and records it here.
Matt. 27:57-66. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, becomes bold to ask the body of Jesus, and shows he is of a different spirit from those who condemned the Lord (Luke 23:51). Through him and Nicodemus, special care was taken of the Lord's body, as Isa. 53:9 reads (New Trans.), "and (men) appointed His grave with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death" (John 19:38-42). Man cannot go further than God allows him to go (Psa. 76:10).
The rich men, god-fearing men, are there at the right moment with the spices and linen and the new sepulcher wherein never man was laid, to care for the body that never saw corruption (Psa. 16), but it was the grave in which the Lord of life and glory lay for the appointed time. A great stone was rolled against the door and they departed, but there those two faithful, devoted women sat after all the others had gone.
The next day, which was the Sabbath, the chief priests apply to Pilate for soldiers to watch the sepulcher. They remember His words, "After three days I will rise again," and try to hinder Him from rising. The soldiers become witnesses to the power of God, and the corruption of those religious leaders.
Christian Warfare.
We are hearing today a great deal about war. Very many young men are being enrolled under various banners to fight for king and country. They are being trained to be good soldiers, fitted to endure the hardness of the battle-field. There is a lesson for young Christians in all this. We are all called to be soldiers, but not to be soldiers of the world, not to fight for its glory and honor, with the terribly destructive weapons of the day. We are called to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, enrolled under His banner-Love-to fight the good fight of faith. The rightful King has been rejected, and has gone away into a "far country." Once He was here, and when a band of soldiers came to apprehend Him, one of His followers impetuously drew his sword and sought to deliver Him but the hour had not come to set up His kingdom on the earth, and He bade Peter put up his sword into its sheath, very graciously healing the wound he had inflicted. His kingdom was not of this world, else His servants on the earth would fight. His Father would have given Him more than twelve legions of angels, if He had prayed for them. But He would be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He had come to save sinners.
In the Epistle to the Church at Ephesus, where the Apostle Paul seems, after the manner of men, to have contended as with wild beasts, he brings before the believers Christ's exaltation and tells them that the Church is the fullness, or completeness, of Him that filleth all in all, that believers have been raised up together with Christ, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Him, that in the ages to come, God might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known through (not by) the Church the manifold, or all varied, wisdom of God. At the end of the Epistle, he tells them that they have to wrestle against these principalities, and powers, against world rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. What a terrible conflict! How can we wage such a war, in which it takes mightiest efforts simply to withstand and stand, to stubbornly maintain and retain? The power for this is, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. I am united to Him, who has not only bound the strong man, taken away his armor and spoiled his goods, but has also destroyed him that had the power of death, by bruising his head at the cross. We are to fight the Lord's battles against His enemies; for this the armor of God is provided, and we are to put it on-the whole armor. Let not any part be wanting, or our ever-vigilant foe will at once discover the weak spot and direct his attack against us there. The first thing to be put on is the girdle of truth. The loins, the place of strength, are to be girded, that there may be no hindrance to free action. The word of God is to curb us, to brace us up for conflict, thus are we to obtain the firmness needed, the strength and comeliness of Christian character. Having then begun to prepare to meet the enemy by allowing the truth to search through and through and detect all that is contrary to God, the next thing is to put on the breastplate of righteousness-condition of the conscience-to have a conscience void of offense before God and man. Practical righteousness enables us to meet the foe fearlessly. When a soul is walking with God, the enemy is unable to accuse; where the breastplate of righteousness protects the vital parts, no self-accusation weakens the defense. The righteous is as bold as a lion. Then too, the believer's walk must be that which becometh the gospel of peace, and so his feet must be protected by the strong, enduring, and not burdensome sandals of the preparation of the gospel of peaces Walk, life and conduct are to be such as becomes the gospel, which preaches peace by Jesus Christ: Having then the condition of soul shown by the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness; and the sandals of the gospel of peace, we are to take besides these the shield of faith over all, capable of being turned hither and thither to meet every attack and whereon the fiery darts will fall harmless and dead. Confidence in God, in the knowledge of Him as revealed in Jesus Christ. All the enemy's darts are tipped with unbelief, and can only be quenched by the shield of faith-trust in God, as to what He is in Himself, and what He is for me-with a corresponding mistrust of myself. "Hangs my helpless soul on thee."
An example of confidence is told in connection with Napoleon Bonaparte. His horse taking fright, he was in imminent danger of being thrown, when a private soldier, springing from his place in the ranks, at the risk of his own life, seized the bridle and respectfully restored it to the emperor. "Thank you, Captain," said the emperor. "Of what regiment, sir?" asked the soldier, saluting the emperor with unquestioning confidence. "Of my own guards," replied the emperor, charmed with such a manifestation of faith and sincerity, and he galloped away. Instantly acting on the emperor's word, the soldier laid down his gun, intimated his new rank to his companions, and passed over to the group of staff officers. "What does this fellow want?" haughtily asked one. "The fellow," said the soldier, "is a captain of the emperor's guards." "A captain," cried another; "who said so?" "The emperor said so," replied the soldier. On which the officers immediately greeted him as one of themselves.
Then we have the helmet of salvation to protect the head-the seat of thought-a proper sense of our salvation in Christ Jesus. "O, God, the strength of my salvation. Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle" (Psa. 140:7).
The believer, then, braced up by the truth, with a good conscience, his path peaceful, having a perfect confidence in God, and a conscious joy of salvation has to take the sword of the Spirit. It is a two-edged one. How it is to be used, the Lord has Himself shown us when He encountered the enemy in the temptation in the wilderness, with the words, "It is written." He applied the Scriptures to Himself, rebuked Satan so that he departed for a season. We cannot destroy him, but the soldier of the Lord arrayed in the whole armor of God, is assured, emboldened to withstand his attacks, and can hold his ground against him. ''When we are weak then are we strong," seems a paradox, but it teaches us that the a aspirations of our soul must mount always towards its source and its Deliverer, so that we are exhorted to pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and to watch thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Thus the soldier of Jesus Christ is not only to be equipped with the whole armor of God, but must be also in entire dependence upon Him, who has called him to be a soldier, ever seeking guidance, ever waiting His commands, ever vigilant.
There is also a negative side in connection with Christian warfare. "We do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh." There is always a danger of the Christian forgetting this. It is only as we walk in the Spirit, we are preserved from the activities of the flesh. Had Simon Peter's loins been girded with the truth, he would not have drawn the sword on Malchus, when the Scriptures were being fulfilled, which said, "He was led as a Lamb to the slaughter," and "Smite the Shepherd of the sheep, and the sheep shall be scattered." When David girded on Saul's armor he put it off again, because he had not proved it, but he went against Goliath girded with the truth-the uncircumcised Philistine had defied the armies of the Living God. When charged with pride and haughtiness of heart, he could answer with divine intelligence and a good conscience, "Is there not a cause?" He had been saved by God from the lion and the bear. On his head was the helmet of salvation, while the Shield of Faith, his confidence in God, gave him assurance of deliverance.
We have need to remember that the conflict into which we are brought, is one of the Devil against God, and His purposes of Grace. Once we were on the other side as slaves of Satan, but now as the children of God, we need not shrink from the conflict, for greater is He that is for us, than all that be against us. So many give up when they find that there is a conflict to be waged. You get in John 6:60-71 many going back. The fight is too hard, too strenuous. Let the question, "Will ye also go away?" test us, and may our answer be, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." And so may we take up the cross daily and follow Him.
"Lead on, Almighty Lord,
Lead on to victory;
Encouraged by Thy blessed Word,
With joy we follow Thee.
Till of the prize possessed,
We hear of war no more,
And O, sweet thought! forever rest
On yonder peaceful shore."