Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

In these verses we read the conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ's passion. After six hours of agonizing suffering, he became obedient even unto death, and "?yielded up the ghost.?" Three points in the narrative demand a special notice: to them let us confine our attention.

Let us observe in the first place the remarkable words which Jesus uttered shortly before his death: "?My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me??"

There is a deep mystery in these words, which no mortal man can fathom. No doubt they were not wrung from our Lord by mere bodily pain: such an explanation is utterly unsatisfactory, and dishonorable to our blessed Saviour. They were meant to express the real pressure on his soul of the enormous burden of a world's sins; they were meant to show how truly and literally he was our substitute—was made sin, and a curse for us, and endured God's righteous anger against a world's sin in his own person. At that awful moment the iniquity of us all was laid on him to the uttermast. It pleased the Lord to bruise him and put him to grief (? Isaiah 53:10). He bore our sins: he carried our transgressions. Heavy must have been that burden, real and literal must have been our Lord's substitution for us when he, the eternal Son of God, could speak of himself as for a time "?forsaken.?"

Let the expression sink down into our hearts, and not be forgotten. We can have no stronger proof of the sinfulness of sin, or of the vicarious nature of Christ's sufferings, than his cry, "?My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me??" It is a cry that should stir us up to hate sin, and encourage us to trust in Christ.

Let us observe in the second place how much is contained in the words which describe our Lord's end. We are simply told, "?he yielded up the ghost.?"

There never was a last breath drawn of such deep import as this. There never was an event on which so much depended. The Roman soldiers, and the gaping crowd around the cross, saw nothing remarkable. They only saw a person dying as others die, with all the usual agony and suffering which attend a crucifixion. But they knew nothing of the eternal interests which were involved in the whole transaction.

That death discharged in full the mighty debt which sinners owe to God, and threw open the door of life to every believer; that death satisfied the righteous claims of God's holy law, and enabled God to be "?just and yet the justifier?" of the ungodly (? Romans 3:26). That death was no mere example of self-sacrifice, but a complete atonement and propitiation for man's sin, affecting the condition and prospects of all mankind. That death solved the hard problem of how God could be perfectly holy, and yet perfectly merciful. It opened to the world a fountain for all sin and uncleanness; it was a complete victory over Satan, and spoiled him openly; it "?finished the transgressions made an end of sins, made reconciliation for iniquity and brought in everlasting righteousness?." (? Daniel 9:24). It proved the sinfulness of sin, when it needed such a sacrifice to atone for it; it proved the love of God to sinners, when he sent his own Son to make the atonement. Never, in fact, was there, or could there be again, such a death. No wonder that the earth quaked when Jesus died in our stead on the accursed tree. The solid frame of the world might well tremble and be amazed, when the soul of Christ was made an offering for sin. (? Isaiah 53:10)

Let us observe in the last place what a remarkable miracle occurred at the hour of our Lord's death, in the very midst of the Jewish temple. We are told that "?the veil of the temple was rent in twain?." The curtain which separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple, and through which the high priest alone might pass, was suddenly split "?from top to bottom.?"

Of all the wonderful signs which accompanied our Lord's death, none was more significant than this. The have been a startling event; the earthquake, which rent the rocks, must have been a tremendous shock. But there was a meaning in the sudden rending of the veil from top to bottom which must have pricked the heart of any intelligent Jew. The conscience of Caiaphas, the high priest, must have been hard indeed if the tidings of that rent veil did not fill him with dismay.

That rending of the veil proclaimed the termination and passing away of the ceremonial law. It was a sign that the old dispensation of sacrifices and ordinances was no longer needed: its work was done, its occupation was gone from the moment that Christ died. There was no more need of an earthly high priest, a mercy-seat, a sprinkling of blood, an offering of incense and a day of atonement. The true High Priest had at length appeared; the true Lamb of God had been slain; the true mercy-seat was at length revealed. The figures and shadows were no longer wanted. May we all remember this! To set up an altar, a sacrifice and a priesthood now is to light a candle at noon-day.

That rending of the veil proclaimed the opening of the way of salvation to all mankind. The way into the presence of God was unknown to the Gentile, and only seen dimly by the Jew, until Christ died; but Christ having now offered up a perfect sacrifice, and obtained eternal redemption, the darkness and mystery were to pass away. All were to be invited now to draw near to God with boldness, and approach him with confidence, by faith in Jesus. A door was thrown open, and a way of life set before the whole world. May we all remember this! From the time that Jesus died, the way of peace was never meant to be shrouded in mystery: there was to be no reserve. The Gospel was the revelation of a mystery which had been hid from ages and generations. To clothe religion now with mystery is to mistake the grand characteristic of Christianity.

Let us turn from the story of the crucifixion, every time we read it, with hearts full of praise. Let us praise God for the confidence it gives us as to the ground of our hope of pardon. Our sins may be many and great but the payment made by our great Substitute far outweighs them all. Let us praise God for the view it gives us of the love of our Father in heaven. "?He that spared not his own Son, but deliver him up for us all—will surely with him give us all things??" (? Romans 8:32). Not least, let us praise God for the view it gives us of the sympathy of Jesus with all his believing people. He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; he knows what suffering is. He is just the Saviour that an infirm body, with a weak heart, in an evil world, requires.

These verses contain the history of our Lord Jesus Christ's burial. There was yet one thing needful in order to make it certain that our Redeemer accomplished that great work of redemption which he undertook. That holy body, in which he bore our sins on the cross, must actually be laid in the grave, and rise again. His resurrection was to be the seal and headstone of all the work.

The infinite wisdom of God foresaw the objections of unbelievers and infidels and provided against them. Did the Son of God really die? Did he really rise again? Might there not have been some delusion as to the reality of his death? Might there not have been imposition or deception, as to the reality of his resurrection? All these and many more objections would doubtless have been raised if opportunity had been given. But he who knows the end from the beginning prevented the possibility of such objections being made. By his overruling providence he ordered things so that the death and burial of Jesus were placed beyond a doubt. Pilate gives consent to his burial; a loving disciple wraps the body in linen and lays it in a new tomb hewn out of a rock, "?wherein was never man yet laid." The chief priests themselves set a guard over the place where his body was deposited. Jews and Gentiles, friends and enemies, all alike testify to the great fact that Christ did really and actually die and was laid in a grave. It is a fact that can never be questioned. He was really "bruised?"; he really "?suffered?"; he really "?died?"; he was really "?buried.?" Let us mark this well: it deserves recollection.

Let us learn for one thing from these verses that our Lord Jesus Christ has friends of whom little is known.

We cannot have a more striking example of this truth than we see in the passage now before us. A man named Joseph, of Arimathea, comes forward when our Lord was dead and asks permission to bury him. We have never heard of this man at any former period of our Lord's earthly ministry: we never hear of him again. We know nothing but that he was a disciple who loved Christ and did him honor. At a time when the apostles had forsaken our Lord—at a time when it was a dangerous thing to profess regard for him—at a time when there seemed to be no earthly advantage to be gained by confessing his discipleship—at such a time as this, Joseph comes forward boldly, and begs the body of Jesus, and lays it in his own new tomb.

This fact is full of comfort and encouragement. It shows us that there are some quiet, retiring souls on earth, who know the Lord, and the Lord knows them, and yet they are little known by the church. It shows us that there are "?diversities of gifts?" among Christ's people: there are some who glorify Christ passively, and some who glorify him actively; there are some whose vocation it is to build the church, and fill a public place, and there are some who only come forward, like Joseph, in times of special need. But each and all are led by one Spirit, and each and all glorify God in their several ways.

Let these things teach us to be more hopeful. Let us believe that "?many shall yet come from the east and the west, and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven?." (? Matthew 8:11). There may be in some dark corners of Christendom many who, like Simeon, Anna and Joseph of Arimathea, are at present little known, who will shine brightly among the Lord's jewels in the day of His appearing.

Let us learn for another thing from these verses that God can make the devices of wicked men work round to his own glory.

We are taught that lesson in a striking manner by the conduct of the priests and Pharisees after our Lord was buried. The restless enmity of these unhappy men could not sleep, even when the body of Jesus was in the grave. They called to mind the words which they remembered he had spoken about "?rising again?": they resolved, as they thought, to make his rising again impossible. They went to Pilate and obtained from him a guard of Roman soldiers; they set a watch over the tomb of our Lord; they placed a seal upon the stone. In short they did all they could to make the sepulchre sure.

They little thought what they were doing; they little thought that unwittingly they were providing the most complete evidence of the truth of Christ's coming resurrection. They were actually making it impossible to prove that there was any deception or imposition. Their seal, their guard, their precautions, were all to become witnesses, in a few hours, that Christ had risen. They might as well have tried to stop the tides of the sea, or to prevent the sun rising, as to prevent Jesus coming forth from the tomb. They were taken in their own craftiness (? 1 Corinthians 3:19): their own devices became instruments to show forth God's glory.

The history of the church of Christ is full of examples of a similar kind. The very things that have seemed most unfavorable to God's people have often turned out to be for their good. What harm did the persecution which arose about Stephen do to the church of Christ? They that were scattered "went everywhere preaching the word." (? Acts 7:4). What harm did imprisonment do St. Paul? It gave him time to write many of those epistles which are now read all over the world. What real harm did the persecution of bloody Mary do to the cause of the English Reformation? The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. What harm does persecution do the people of God at this very day? It only drives them nearer to Christ: it only makes them cling more closely to the throne of grace, the Bible, and prayer.

Let all true Christians lay these things to heart, and take courage. We live in a world where all things are ordered by a hand of perfect wisdom, and where in all things are working together continually for the good of the body of Christ. The powers of this world are only tools in the hand of God: he is ever using them for his own purposes, however little they may be aware of it. They are the instruments by which he is ever squaring and polishing the living stones of his spiritual temple, and all their schemes and plans will only turn to his praise. Let us be patient in days of trouble and darkness, and look forward. The very things which now seem against us are all working together for God's glory. We see but half now: yet a little, we shall see all; and we shall then discover that all the persecution we now endure was, like "?the seal?" and "?the guard,?" tending to God's glory. God can make the "?wrath of man praise him?." (? Psalm 77:10)