They crucified Him

I'll just take a verse in John, please. John chapter 19. In fact, we'll read four verses together, one from each of the Gospels.

John's Gospel and chapter 19. Verse 17 says this, and he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha. Where they crucified him and two other with him, on either side one and Jesus in the midst.

Now back to Luke's Gospel, chapter 23. Luke's account now of Calvary. Luke 23 verse 32, and there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death.

And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Mark's Gospel, chapter 15, verse 25. And it was the third hour.

Now you've heard this already. Nine o'clock in the morning, our time. It was the third hour and they crucified him.

Then finally Matthew's record, chapter 27, verse 35. And they crucified him and they parted his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the prophet. And this is recorded in Psalm 22, a thousand years before this took place at Calvary.

David was the psalmist. He was the prophet. And this is what God gave him to write.

They parted my garments among them. Now that's what the soldiers did with the garments of the Lord Jesus. Isn't it amazing that they were fulfilling, heathen men, wicked men, Roman soldiers.

They were fulfilling what God had said about Christ and Calvary and his garments a thousand years before. They crucified him. They parted his garments.

They cast lots that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among them. And upon my vesture did they cast lots.

I will leave the reading there and you will notice that we've read from Matthew and Mark and Luke and John. And you will notice that each of those gospel writers, they use the same phrase. This phrase that we've read four times.

They crucified him. The story is told, I think, is a very old story, but it's a story from England. I hope you won't mind.

This took place in a county called Oxfordshire. That's what we use to refer to. We don't have states in England.

As you fair well know, we have counties in England. And there's a county not just too far away from us. I live in the royal county of Berkshire, by the way.

That must be pretty impressive, a royal county. But just to the north of our county in Berkshire, there is a county called Oxfordshire. There was an old lady, Christian lady.

I don't know her name, but she was a believer in the Lord Jesus. She was an old lady. She was in her 80s.

And sadly, the time had come when she didn't have long left at all to live. There was nothing that could be done for this lady. She wasn't in hospital.

She was at home. She was tucked up in bed. She just had a matter of hours, a matter of days to live.

Now, it just so happened that in the area, in the vicinity, there was a Roman Catholic priest. This Roman Catholic priest heard that this old lady was about to pass away. And he thought to himself, well, I better go and see this lady.

Because he believed as a Roman Catholic priest, he believed that there was power invested in him to forgive sins. The Roman Catholics call that absolution, the forgiveness of sins. By the way, friend, he was misguided.

By the way, that's not true. Power is not invested in men and women to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins, God alone.

But nevertheless, that man, he went to see this old lady and he made his way into the home. He was let in by carers and very carefully and very kindly, he asked to see the lady. He went in and sat at her bedside and he spoke to that dear old Christian woman.

This is what he said. He said, dear lady, he said, I have come to grant you absolution for your sins. She looked at him.

She didn't have long to live, but I tell you this, she was bright. She looked at this man and she said, absol what? He said, dear lady, I have come to grant you absolution for your sins. I have come to grant you forgiveness of sins.

She didn't say anything to the dear man. She thought for a moment and then she looked at him. She said, dear sir, show me your hands.

Now, you can understand that the Roman Catholic priest was a little taken aback at this request. But he just put his hand over onto the bed of the lady. She took his hand and she looked at it.

She said, sir, you are an imposter. She said, the man who has forgiven my sins has nail prints in his hands and nail prints in his feet and you have nothing of the sort. I would like to have been a fly on the wall in that room.

I'm not sure a Roman Catholic priest had ever been called before an imposter. Sir, you are an imposter. The man who has forgiven my sins, thank God for her testimony.

The man who has forgiven my sins has nail prints in his hands and in his feet. That's Christ. And thank God for the precious blood that Christ shed at Calvary.

Thank God for a saviour. Thank God for salvation that's to be found in him. I want to say to you dear folks here this evening, I wonder if you know the salvation that Brother John has been speaking about.

I wonder if you know the salvation that this dear woman had come into the good of through Christ. You just notice, please, these four gospel records. I'm going to say it four times.

John says this, they crucified him. Luke says, they crucified him. Mark says, they crucified him.

Matthew says, they crucified him. Every single one of these gospel records testifying to the fact that they crucified Christ. And it's because he was crucified.

It's because of his cross that you and I can be saved. The precious blood that he shed at Calvary. The salvation that he wrought and that he provided, available to you.

Available to me in this meeting tonight. Now is the day of salvation that Christ is coming very soon. I wonder if you know the wonder of the forgiveness of sins through a crucified Christ.

But I tell you this, God has given us four gospel records for a reason. And God wants to just give us four different perspectives of the glory of the Lord Jesus. And he wants to give us four different perspectives of the life and the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And yet central to every one of these records, they crucified him. They crucified him. You say, what about Matthew? I want to start with Matthew.

It seems to me that Matthew, he is going to emphasize in particular, the person who died on the cross. Says Matthew, they crucified, and we might emphasize him, they crucified him. And you say, Matthew, who is this individual? This is the one that we preach to you tonight.

This is the one that we preach as the only Savior of sinners. The only one who can save your soul. The one who longs to save your soul.

You say, who is this person? Says Matthew, they crucified him. By the way, he must be significant. Because Matthew goes on to say, God spoke about this person a thousand years.

Way back in the Psalms, Psalm 22, David had said as a prophet, a prophecy given him by God himself, they parted my garments among them and for my vesture they cast lots. He must be a significant person. God spoke about him a thousand years previous.

They crucified him. You say, who is he? Well, two verses later in Matthew, he's called Jesus. That's a beautiful name, isn't it? That's the inscription they put above his cross.

This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Go back to the beginning of Matthew's gospel. The angel says to Joseph, when he's born, call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Every Christian rejoices in the name of Jesus. He's the Savior. You turn back a little bit in Matthew, you go to Matthew 16, and the Lord Jesus said, well, who do the crowds say? Who do the people say I am? And the disciples said, well, the crowds, some of them are saying you're John the Baptist raised from the dead.

Some of them are saying you're Elijah. Some of them are saying you're Jeremiah. But said the Lord Jesus to his disciples, who do you say that I am? Says Peter, we believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

They crucified him. You say, who was he? He was Jesus, Savior. They crucified him.

Who was he? He's the Christ. He's the Son of the living God. And when he was born, he was the very fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.

Call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. You understand, dear friends, tonight, we're not preaching religion. We are not preaching a mere human being.

We are preaching to you the only Savior of sinners. And the only Savior of sinners must be God. And he must be a man.

Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. And when he was born, this is Emmanuel. God is with us.

And one who is both God and man can be a mediator between God and man. And thank God he can pay the price that is due to sin at Calvary because he's God. And satisfy the infinite justice and righteousness and holiness of God.

And he can lay his hand on you and me. And he can bring God and men together. He's the mediator between God and men.

He's the man, Christ Jesus. Capable of paying a price to satisfy the holiness of God. Capable of entering into death.

Of shedding his precious blood. That you and I might be cleansed, forgiven, saved. Says Matthew, they crucified him.

And the great emphasis falls on his person. What about Mark? Mark, you won't be surprised to hear that Mark says this, they crucified him. You say, what's the difference with Mark? If Matthew seems to be emphasizing the great person who died at Calvary.

This is what I love about Mark by the way. Mark says this, it was the third hour and they crucified him. Mark loves time keeping.

Mark is absolutely precise. It's only Mark when you read about the cross who speaks of the third hour, nine o'clock, they crucified him. That speaks of the six hour, 12 midday, when darkness came down upon the whole earth.

And Mark speaks about the ninth hour, three in the afternoon, when he cried with a loud voice, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Dying for sinners and for sins at Calvary. And it seems to me that Mark is interested not so much in the person of the cross. Mark is interested in the precision of the cross, third hour, sixth hour, ninth hour.

Mark is interested in the eternal purpose of that cross. You say, come on Dan, it's just a period of time. It's just an hour.

You say, why does it matter that Mark says it was the third hour and they crucified him? Listen, God is an immaculate timekeeper. Not only had God told his servant Daniel hundreds of years previous, the exact year that Christ would die, but God had told Moses 1,500 years before it took place. Not just the year, but the day and even the hour when Christ would die at Calvary.

Friend, this Bible is the word of God. You can trust this book. God had spoken to Moses and spoken of the Passover lamb, a lamb that had to be slain, blood that had to be shed to redeem, to rescue God's people out of Egypt.

And God had said to Moses, Moses, this sacrifice of a Passover lamb is the great picture of all that my son will do at Calvary. Take that lamb on the 10th day of the month, Nisan. It must be slain on the 14th day of Nisan.

Do you know when Christ died? The 14th day of Nisan. Moses, take that lamb. It must be slain between the evenings.

You say, when was that? Well, between the evenings was between three o'clock and six o'clock in the afternoon. You say, when did Christ die? Mark says it was the third hour. They crucified him.

That's not when he died, that's when he was crucified. 12 midday, darkness over all the earth, three o'clock in the afternoon. Between the evenings, God is meticulous in his timekeeping.

Then he said, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because he was bearing sins, suffering for sinners. And he cried with a loud voice. He said, finished.

That had never been said before. When Aaron went into the tabernacle on the day of atonement and did all that he did, he never came out and said to the people, finished. Pack up the tabernacle.

Take it away. It's all done. We don't need to come back next year.

They did. Because the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins. But this man, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he said, it's finished.

And between the evenings, just as God had said, the year, the month, the day, the hour. He died at Calvary. Friend, that is the eternal purpose of the cross.

You see, the cross is the centerpiece of time. The cross is part of God's eternal plan to save your soul. And it happened in just a moment of hours there at the cross.

And friend, your soul needs saving. This is what Paul says in Galatians 4. He says, when the fullness of the time was come, just at the perfect moment, God sent forth his Son to redeem them who were under the law. Let's talk about sins.

Friend, the Bible declares that all have sinned. Maybe you don't need me to tell you that. But if you're not saved tonight, the weight of your sins is bearing down upon your soul.

But Christ died for sins. And he died for sinners at Calvary. Your sins have bound you in eternal chains that are taking you to the blackness of darkness forever.

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son just at the right moment. In fact, at the right hour, he died to redeem us, to free us, to emancipate us, to give us liberty from our sins. Redemption to be found in the person of Christ.

And for the believer, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed my sins from me. Because I trusted him. And because he died for me.

But friend, if you've never trusted Christ, your sins are still upon you. Your sins are not removed. Your sins are weighted upon you.

And will take you to a lost eternity. Under the judgment of God, they crucified him. You say, what about Luke? Well, this is what Luke says.

Chapter 23, when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him. And the malefactors, one on the right hand, the other on the left, this is not so much the person of the cross, not so much the purpose of the cross, the eternal plan of the cross. Now you are thinking about the power of the cross.

Because the one who was crucified there, they crucified him. There were malefactors either side of him. And immediately that Luke says that, Luke says, records the language of the Lord Jesus.

He said, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. I tell you, that's the power of the cross.

And maybe primarily the Lord Jesus was speaking to those soldiers who had laid their hands upon him, nailed him to that cross. But that's something of the power. Here are malefactors, criminals, wrongdoers on either side of him.

On the center cross, one who had never done any wrong. One who was sinless and spotless. But he's dying to deal with malefactors.

And as he's nailed to that cross, he says, Father, forgive them. Those who had laid their hands on Christ. That's the power of the cross.

The one who died at Calvary has power to forgive sins. Has power to loose sins. Has power to separate you from your sins.

Remove that weight and that burden. That's the forgiveness of sins. Thank God for the power of the cross.

Do you know what folks were saying as they were standing around about him? The crowd was beholding him. Some of the chief rulers said this. He saved others.

What a statement by the way. They recognized that in the life of this glorious person, he went about doing good. He went about healing disease.

He went about saving others. They said he saved others. If he's the Christ, let him come down from the cross and save himself.

Had he done that, he would have damned you and me. And damned a human race to eternal judgment. He would not, did not save himself.

But that's the power of the cross. He wrought forgiveness for you and me. He wrought salvation for you and me.

And to one of those malefactors who turned in faith to him. And who bowed the knee metaphorically to him and said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He said, today with me in paradise.

There's the power of the cross. One who died at Calvary. One who exhausted the wrath of God against sin.

Or the judgment that was due to sin. Coming forth from a holy God. Poured out upon him.

Forsaken. Shedding his precious blood. As his side was pierced with the spear.

And there flowed forth out of the side of Christ blood to cleanse. Water to cleanse. Blood life given up.

Water life given out. Thank God he made forgiveness. And salvation.

And paradise. Heaven. He made that available for you.

And available for me. They crucified him. The power of the cross.

What about John? Well, John says this. Where they crucified him. On either side one.

And Jesus in the midst. Christ in the midst. I call that not the person of the cross.

Not the eternal purpose of the cross. Not the power of the cross. That's the place of the cross.

John says it was right in the middle. There were two others crucified. On either side one.

We know, says Luke, they were malefactors. They were criminals. But he was right in the middle.

That was the chief sinner's cross. Apparently. That was the place where the prime criminal should die.

And my Savior died there. That's where Christ died. And you know in John's gospel Christ is always in the middle.

He's always in the center. Christ is always in the midst. And thank God though he died at Calvary in the midst.

The place of his cross. He was taken down from that cross with loving hands. Wrapped in, wrapped in linen.

Laid in the tomb. Thank God the third day he rose again. We're not preaching a dead Savior.

We're not preaching a dying Savior. We are preaching a living Savior. One who's alive from the dead.

One who has ascended to the heights of glory. One who is seated at God's right hand. And one who resides in.

Where do you think he is? Where's his place? One who resides in the very midst of the throne. And of the living creatures. And of the elders.

And of the whole angelic host. Christ is still in the midst of heaven. And he's glorified.

And he's honored. And the chorus of heaven is worthy is the Lamb that was slain. They crucified him.

Friend, have your sins been forgiven? Do you know the joy of forgiveness? Do you know salvation? Thank God it can be yours. Through simple faith in Jesus Christ. The one who is a risen Christ.

The one who is at God's right hand. Look to Christ in glory. He died for you at Calvary.

But he lives to be your Savior. Friend, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved.

I'm finished. There was a Christian man recently walking through Manila. For those of you who are geographers, you will know that Manila is the capital of the Philippines.

And he was walking through Manila, the capital of the Philippines on Good Friday. Walking through some of the streets of that city, he came across, and some of you will think that I'm bashing the Roman Catholics an awful lot in this gospel meeting tonight, but he came across a Roman Catholic church. It was Good Friday.

There were a lot of people inside that church and milling around outside of that church. It was absolutely crowded. And as he just pushed his way down through the street and pushed his way down through the crowds, there were all of these vendors, street sellers.

They were selling incense. They were selling candles. And running through the crowd, pushing through the crowd with a number of wooden crosses in their hands, were some little boys.

And these little boys were trying to get in on the act, trying to sell their goods to the tourists and to the worshippers, so-called. And they were pushing their way through the crowd and they were saying, crosses for sale, cross. They said, cheap crosses, cheap crosses for sale.

I tell you, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ was anything but cheap. It cost God His Son. It cost Christ Himself.

God who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. He must love you. He must love me.

They crucified Him. Well, we commend Him to you tonight as Lord and Savior. Whosoever shall call upon His name shall be saved.

God will bless His Word to us. Let's just pray. Father, we thank you tonight for some of these glorious scenes that we've been meditating upon.

We thank Thee, our Father, for the redeemed. For the garments that they were wearing, white and spotless. Father, for garments that had been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

We thank Thee for their position standing before Thee. And Father, we've been removed from a scene of celebration and rejoicing and glory. We've been thinking of Calvary.

We've been thinking, our Father, of the place where they crucified Him. And we thank Thee for the person who died there. Father, for the purpose of the cross to save men and women.

For the power of that cross and the precious shed blood that was His there at Calvary. And Father, for the place of that cross right in the center and the midst. We thank Thee for one who eternally will be in the midst, in the midst of the throne.

We pray for lost sinners in this meeting tonight. And pray, our Father, that they might recognize their guilt before Thee. And bow the knee to the living Savior.

Cry to Him for salvation. We thank Thee for such a glorious one. Father, we ask Thy blessing upon us as we sing this closing hymn and we make our way home.

We pray that Thy word might be weighty upon each one. We bless Thee for a Savior who lives. We commit and commend ourselves to Thee tonight.

And ask these things in the Savior's name. Amen.