at least know the word Christmas and perhaps have some idea about the birth of the Lord, and that that day is set apart to celebrate his birth, and well, we might celebrate the birth of the Savior. For without the birth of the Savior there'd be no Savior. for He was the only Savior. He still is the only Savior. And therefore, if He had not been born of the Virgin, according to your Bible and mine, there would have been no Savior for this world. He was born. That's a matter of the Holy Scripture and a matter of history. So a day set apart to celebrate His birth. And we thank the Lord for that. And then a great part of the population of the world evidently knows something about the Easter, the time in the spring of the year that's set apart to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Or we read in the scriptures that he was buried by Joseph and Nicodemus, and the great stone was rolled to the mouth of Sepulchre. And a watch of soldiers was set, lest the disciples would come and steal away his body and said he'd risen from the dead. So a great portion of our population at least recognize and know something about the term Easter. But the amazing fact is that the Lord's offering of himself on the cross the crucifixion There isn't any day set apart by Christendom to celebrate or remember his death. There's no holiday for his death. The greatest performance for the benefit of mankind was his crucifixion, which was his own offering because There wasn't any power on earth or elsewhere that could have put him to the cross. It wasn't the nails that nailed him there that held him. No. It was love that sought Gethsemane, the hymn writer so aptly put it, or Judas near had found thee. It was love that nailed thee to the tree, or iron near had found thee. This is true. He gave Himself, He offered Himself unto God a sacrifice once and forever, without spot to go. The sacrifice for our sins. The greatest achievement for mankind was by the Lord Jesus Christ, where He took pure sins and mine and bare them in His own body on the tree and answered to God for them so that we could be forgiven. and stand in His presence not only cleansed, but sanctified and justified because a penalty has been paid. The penalty has been wholly paid by the Lord Jesus for your sins and mine, for our debt to the God of heaven. Payment has been made. The price has been paid. by the Lord Jesus himself, who freely offered himself without spot to God. And he's now sat down forever, that sacrifice was forever, and he's sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. And he is, alive forevermore, he's there now. He's paid the full redemption price. He asks if you and I believe it. that he died on the cross. For each of us are individual sins, and we as individuals recognize and accept him by an act of faith in our hearts and souls, our minds, on our part. Yes, he paid my debt. He paid my debt. He set me free. His precious blood cleanses me from every spot and stain. Hallelujah. Thanks, the Lord. Then we just point out the fact that the Christendom has not fixed today to call the world's attention to the fact that the Lord Jesus died on the cross for all mankind. The Bible is about one person mainly. That's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is about one subject mainly, and that's salvation for humankind. My friends, have you trusted Christ as your Savior? He bear the penalty. He bear the suffering. He paid all the price for your redemption and mine. He satisfied the righteous claims of a holy God. Judgment against you and me. He had no sins. Therefore, his blood was precious. His blood was pure. And his dying... shedding of his blood for us, if God accepts, as a sacrifice for our sins and we go free. Oh, what a salvation is this. The only salvation, there's only one, only one way to heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ who said, I am the way. And my friend, in the crucifixion, we don't know, nor can we comprehend, the terrific suffering not only of body suffering, not only from the wounds that he received, the horrible treatment that he received, but the inward, the heart, his soul, when he made his soul an offering for sin. Briefly we'll notice just some of the things that seem to be paramount in causing him the deepest distress. and sorrow. For he said, for we read in the sixteenth verse about the Peter standing without at the door, and they brought him in, but Adam saw him as he, that kept the door, and she said, Art, not thou also one of this man's disciples? Now here's Peter, that great man. One of the greatest men that ever lived, but only a man. He said so himself in the Acts of the Apostles. I also am a man. So the impotent man who couldn't walk and who got, the Lord gave him strength at the hands of Peter and John. They had nothing to do with it. They said so. They were just the channels. The Lord gave him the strength, into the impotent man. And so he told the man, as he fell down to worship Peter, Peter said, Stand up. I also am a man. just a man. As all of us are. But here this great man, when the damsel said to him, Thou also was one of this man's disciples, what was his answer? He said, I am not. It couldn't be more clear. There was no thought here. There was no hesitancy here. There was no ambiguous words here. that great man Peter, whom I admire in many, many respects, proved that he was only a man, for he failed. And he said, I am not. He was. So he told a deliberate untruth. But think of how this must have hurt the Savior. The one who called Peter from his fishing... and said, I'll make you fishers of men. The one who took Peter, James, and John up under the mountain and who transfigured before them, and Peter was one of the three that heard the Lord Jesus and Moses and Elias speaking about his deceit that should be accomplished at Jerusalem, his crucifixion. And now Peter, being confronted by a damsel, he says, I'm not his disciple. How this must have cut the heart. Oh, can you imagine what this must have meant to the Savior? One of the strongest, one of the outspoken ones of his disciples, of all the apostles, the first one. The first was Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother, James the son of Jebedee and John his brother, and so on. All the apostles, the twelve. And to hear him say now, Before all this angry mob, I am not his disciple. This must have cut his heart. No wonder he could say my heart is smitten. Not oh, not his body. He passed by the body beating. And he said my heart was smitten. My heart is broken. And then finally he said my heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of my bow. Oh, my friend, The Lord Jesus suffered agony on the cruise at the crucifixion, bearing your sins and mine. And so have we trusted him? Have we been saved? We know him as our Savior today. This is the great question of the moment. Heavenly Father, thank thee there is a Savior. Thank thee the crucifixion was suffered. It's now passed and gone forever, and whosoever will may come.