I'll cross the grave, the skies. Let's turn to Matthew chapter twenty-seven. Now, if you have the Bible and you want one somewhere in the pew, there is one. And if you just whisper and ask someone to pass it to you, if it's not in front of you, then I'm sure that they will. Matthew chapter twenty-seven. We read in the later chapter in the Scriptures that when the Sabbath was passed toward the dawning of the first day of the week, and that's exactly when the resurrection happened, Let me read to you just a verse or two, first of all, from verse three of chapter twenty-seven. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned. in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. Now look at verse twenty in the same chapter, please. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus. Go down to verse twenty three. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person, see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he berabas unto them, And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Let's go down to verse fifty-eight. He went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Now that was a rich man, a man of Arimathea named Joseph. He went and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate, verse fifty-eight still, commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre and departed." Look at verse sixty-five. Verse sixty-four. Let's make it verse sixty-three. Sir, we remember that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night. and steal him away, and say unto the people he has risen from the dead, so that the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch, go your way and make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulch a sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. Verse one of chapter twenty eight. You know, What the Word of God says is far more important than anything else, anything that I can say about it. So let's keep reading. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. They came to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified, he is not here. For he is risen, as he said, come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. Now I know there's a semicolon there, but that's where we're going to finish the reading. Let's pray together. Our Father so many times we have preached about these things. So many times we as a congregation have listened to the truths about these things. But we ask that in some special way you will make this story which is such an old, old story to us, one that we deeply appreciate but make it fresh in some fashion that our hearts may be further warmed by the story of the cross and of the death of the Lord Jesus. and of his resurrection. We ask it in his name. Amen. Now the portion of the chapter that I've read to you and an earlier chapter we have the the what shall I say the evaluation of man concerning the Lord Jesus. And according to that evaluation, they crowned him with a crown of thorns. But God had approbation with regard to his Son. And all of this is now passed. And God has crowned him with glory and honor. That's the story of of the cross and the death and the resurrection. It always seems to me when I read these stories in the Gospels that there are four things that stand out in the story and I'm going to give them to you. The first one is the trial at which the Lord Jesus was mocked and taunted. You know the details of the trial. I don't need to go into detail, but I'll come back to it in a moment or two. The second thing is the tree upon which the Lord Jesus was hanged. They nailed him to a tree. And the chapter gives to us something of the suffering of the Lord Jesus. The story of the tree is a story all by itself. It's a story that is meant to break the hearts of men and women. It's a story that is meant to break the hearts of the boys and girls. It's a story that broke my heart when I was thirteen years of age. The tree upon which he was hanged. The third thing is the tomb into which he was brought. And we read about that in our chapter, twenty-seven here, and I will talk about it a little as we go along. But you'll notice there is a rich man involved here, and that he gave for the Lord Jesus his own rock-hune tomb. And there... They brought the body of the Lord Jesus. You know, that man never dreamed that he would ever be buried there, but I suppose he was. Jesus only used it for three days. And then he rose in triumph from the dead. And that's the fourth thing. After the trial at which he was mocked, and a tree upon which he was hanged, and the tomb into which he was brought, comes the triumph. by which he was vindicated. Here we have the Easter story from the beginning to the end. Just briefly, let me talk about the trial. And again, there are four things here that have to do with the trial of the Lord Jesus. And I would put that into inverted commas. I mean quotes. I forgot. I thought I was back in England then again. But the first of these was brought to our notice in verse three. Then Judas. Here is the first character, and here is the first of the topics, very brief ones, the treachery of Judas. He kissed the door of heaven and went to hell. Poor Judas. He tried to give the Jews back their money. They refused it and he flung it down onto the temple floor and he went out and hanged himself. His treachery cost him dearly and he was only paid thirty pieces of silver for it. The greatest tragedy is he betrayed the Lord Jesus with a kiss. The second thing that had to do with the trial at which Jesus was mocked was a tumult among the Jews. Now we read here about the priests and the elders and a little further on the scribes. But here we are told that the chief priests and elders, I don't know where the scribes were, persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas to be released and destroy Jesus. They raised a tumult. Literally, they raised hell in order to get the Lord Jesus put to death on the cross. And it was a tumult. And it spread through the crowd. And the crowd began to take up. Did you see on the news this past week a man standing seven stories up in a building that's flaming behind him? He is sort of pictured, framed in the window, and he is seeking help, and there's no way to get up to him, no ladder that is long enough. But an intrepid fireman was let down from the top of the roof, and he came to where the man was... was standing. And with his elbow he broke the window and then removed the pieces of glass and helped the man down. But do you know, while that man was standing there and the smoke pouring out of the window and the flames making the room behind him very, very red, the crowd at the bottom was singing, jump, jump, jump, jump. And he was seven stories up last week. The crowd hasn't changed. The crowd smells blood. If they smell it, they want it. And that was the same with this crowd. It was a tumult. And they said, crucify him. They yelled, screamed, crucify him. It was part of the trial. The third thing is the timidity of the judge. I read, then Judas. Little further down I read, Then Pilate. Now Pilate was a very unhappy man. His wife had sent him a message, and every man tricks up his ears when his wife sends him a message. His wife sent him the right message. Have thou nothing to do with this just man, for I have suffered many things in a dream because of him. Pilot was actually brought face to face with the fact that what he was doing was wrong. He found him innocent and he condemned him to death. Why? Because he was afraid for himself. The timidity of the judge. That was the worst kind of judgment. I have an idea. In fact, I know it for a fact. that if Pilate didn't repent of that sin, and that very, very big mistake, he went to hell to join Judas. But I doubt they have any fellowship. There is no fellowship in hell. And the last thing here is the tormenting of the Lord Jesus. Man's inhumanity to man, but in this instance to the God-man. The Lord Jesus was God, manifest in the flesh. And all of this that was happening to him, he could have put to an end with a word, or even less than that. He didn't choose to do it. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it, he said. And yet in his struggles in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed, O my Father, if it be possible that this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And God willed. And the Lord Jesus went into the arms of the mob. when Pilate dismissed him and they jeeringly accompanied him as he carried his cross until he could carry it no longer and then someone was a forced volunteer and carried it for him. So there are four things about the trial that occurred to me and are very clear here the treachery of Judas, the tumult of the Jews the timidity of the judge and the torment of the Lord Jesus. But the trial is only the beginning of what we call Passion Week. You know, this week in the Bible began very wonderfully. It began with the singing of the children. Hosanna! Hosanna! Singing the phrases of the Lord Jesus as on a donkey He crossed the valley to go into the city of Jerusalem. A very auspicious beginning. They were singing to him and about him as a king. They were waving their palm trees, the voice of the children. Our little child shall leave them. Scripture says, but it didn't happen this time. Nobody followed the children and cried Hosanna. They were too busy, just not very far away from where eventually the Lord Jesus was going to be tried, and the crowd was gathering already determined that they were going to seek His blood. The trial is the first thing. The tree is the second. Now what can I say about the tree? I'll say only three things. The cross upon which the Lord Jesus died, the tree to which he was nailed, became the means of God's love for us being brought to a wonderful conclusion because by dying Jesus opened the door of heaven, to the sinner. There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in if he had said no. We may well have been in hell tonight for I think the human race would have long since been done away. But the tree became here an instrument of hate There's a mention of the chief priests. There's a mention of the elders. Elsewhere there's a mention of the scribes. And they all had a following. And these men hated the Lord Jesus. Every one of them more, I believe, than they had ever hated anything or anyone else. And they were so blinded by their hate, there was only one thing that they wanted, and that was the death of Jesus Christ, and they wanted in shame and agony on a tree. The cross was an instrument of hate. It was also an instrument of humiliation. It's written in the word of God. Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. Cursed. Humiliation. I don't know how long it's been since you, as an individual, read the story of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. It was not enough that they nailed him eventually to a tree, but it was before that they spat in his face. They tore the hairs from his beard. They pummeled him. They beat him. They kicked him. They hated him and they didn't care who knew it. And when the governor admits that I find no fault in this man. They said, you're no friend of Caesar's if you let him go. And Pilate was so timid, the very mention of Caesar's name and the lot of his job, and he said, take him and do what you like with him. I find no fault in him. You take him. He's yours. An instrument of humiliation. as if the cross were not bad enough. He did it with spittle running down his beard. And I believe with blood from his face, where they tore out his beard. I know that he was bleeding fiercely from his back, from the Roman's scourge, which had small pieces of metal tied into every thong. They made deep their furrows in my back, the Lord Jesus said prophetically, because they tore his back, because of the governor's verdict. He was taken, and before he was crucified, he was scourged. The soldiers, they stripped him of all of his garments, and he stood there stark naked, no covering, and that's the way they nailed him to the tree. an instrument of humiliation. Indeed, no man was ever humiliated like the Lord Jesus was humiliated. All the way to Calvary he went for me. We sing in the chorus sometimes and he went with bleeding face and bleeding head and bleeding back, bleeding hands and feet. But you know, the spear was plunged into his side. And forthwith came there out blood and water. And now we sing, What can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. When I see the blood, God says, I will pass over you. So it was an instrument of hate and of humiliation. It was also an instrument of horror. I cannot imagine a death so painful, so excruciating, so degrading as crucifixion. Imagine for the hours that he was there. how the wounds in his hands would inflame, how the wounds in his feet would inflame, how that his weight hanging on those nails would constantly rack his body with pain. I cannot describe it, as really it needs to be described. But I've quoted the poet more than once from this platform, from this podium. Is it nothing to you that a Savior has died? Is it nothing to you? Can you carelessly glance at your Lord crucified? Is it nothing to you? Can you gaze on the dying one saddened, forlorn, on the brow of the royal one crowned with thorn, on the hands that are nailed marked, and feet that are torn? I say, is it nothing to you? Now, I believe that it is possible that sitting in their congregation they may be one they may be only one but it may be that this morning God is going to say to you you're lost and because you're lost a man died for you and he died upon a cross many many years ago he paid the price for your sin he suffered an agony you cannot imagine and do you know what he's doing now He's knocking on your heart's door and he's saying, I want to come into your heart. I want to remake your life. I want to bring joy into your life. I want you to be sure of heaven. Because you see, Jesus didn't stay on the tree. As we're going to see in a minute, they laid him in the tomb, but he rose from the dead. The one who's knocking at your heart's door is a living Savior. But if you don't let him in, there is no hope for you in the eternal future. So the tree was an instrument of hate, of humiliation and of horror. Now the next thing is the tomb into which he was brought. I like this because here is a rich man. and he's made ready for every eventuality. Look at what the verse says here, if I can find it in a hurry. It says of the place where the Lord Jesus was buried. Well, he wasn't actually buried. It was a rich man's tomb, and it was a rock-hune tomb there had never been a body in it it was a new tomb and that tomb was handed over to those that loved the Lord Jesus so that the body of the Lord Jesus might have a home the tomb the tomb into which he was brought now think about the grave itself it's not what you and I would call a grave a tomb is a better word but you know It was prophesied. Way back in Isaiah fifty-three, he'll be with the rich in his death. God knew the future. You can't surprise God. God knew the future. God knows your future. And I hope heavens in your future. God knows the past. That's why you cannot hide your sin from him. But because Jesus died for it, you can have a savior from your sin. And you don't have to go out of this place without knowing that your sins are all forgiven because Jesus died on a tree and was put into a tomb. So he was prophesied in Scripture that he would be with the rich in his death. The Lord Jesus never sought the rich. He sought the poor and the beggarly and the lost and the lame and the sick and so on. but there were rich men who found the Lord, and this man was one of them. It says that he gave his tomb. And then we are told that because it was raccoon, of course it was permanent in character. It was actually, I believe, wrenched out of a stone hillside. Everything. Now, usually tombs are made to keep intruders out. But this tomb was made, though the owner didn't realize it at the time, to keep a body in. To keep a body in. When they buried the Lord Jesus, the masses of people thought that is the end of him. So you have a tomb. You have a new tomb. You have a rock-hune tomb. And there the body of the Lord Jesus is taken after being brought down from the cross. Tender hands took him down from the cross. I believe that there were many, many tears that mingled with the blood of the Lord Jesus as they carried his battered body to the anointing and burying. I believe many hearts were broken. at the death of the Lord Jesus. Because unlike God, they couldn't see into the future. Now it wasn't enough to have a tomb like that. But they had a huge stone rolled into the front of it. And that stone was not to keep intruders out. That was to keep the body in them. And certain of those people came and they said to the Romans, now look, he said he's going to rise again from the dead in three days. You better set a sentry there, put your seal on the rock. That's exactly what they did. They had a stone there, they had a seal there, and they had a sentry there. The tomb to which Jesus was brought. It was well guarded. It was totally secure. But you know, the end of the story is this, the triumph by which the Lord Jesus was vindicated. No stone could keep the risen Christ inside the tomb. He passed through wars. He appeared in rooms that were locked. The Lord Jesus, the risen Lord Jesus, can go every place. Don't ask me to explain this. He can go to every place at the same time. Don't you ever think that you can get away from the eyes of the Lord Jesus. And if you're not saved, if you're not born again, if you could hear his voice, I believe you'd hear him saying, I'm so sad about you. I loved you so much, I died for you, yet you will not even listen to my name. You're not willing to let me into your life. You're not willing to give me an invitation into your heart. Jesus died for you, you know. If you had been the only person in the world, And you were a sinner on your way to hell, Jesus Christ would have come from heaven and gone all the way to Calvary and died there just for you. And you've got to realize this is a personal thing between you and the Lord Jesus. The triumph by which he was vindicated. Now I can't explain this to you, but the word of God says, God raised him from the dead. I know this. While men had shown their contempt and crowned him with thorns, God shows his complete contentment with the work of Christ and crowns him, as I said, with glory and honor. But when men had done their worst, and in a sense, as an authority, they're very, very best, a pyroxium tomb, a huge stone, a seal, a century. What more could you want? That body sure is secure. Nothing is going to happen to that body. But it did. You see, there was an angel descended, and he sat upon this big stone. I think that this is just a tiny little bit of humor, God's humor. The angel is saying, in effect, he comes down and he sits on the top of the rock. What is meant to be a deterrent, well, to make entry into the tomb impossible, the angel makes the throne up. And he sits on the top of the stone, and I believe he looks so pityingly on the people that were just casually standing around because the funeral had stirred an interest, I'm sure. But when the angels descended, do you know what happened? There was an earthquake. God was going to wake these people up. The earth shook. Do you know what the second thing was? The seal was absolutely shattered. I thought to have seen that seal. It wasn't that nobody took it and broke it. The angel lit and the seal was shattered. And what about the stone that he's sitting on? He just rolled it away. And then he opened the tomb, shook the earth, shattered the seal, and showed the tomb. It's now wide open. What a wonderful thing. The loved ones came to weep at the tomb. The angel said, Don't look here. Don't look here. He is not here. Come see the place where he lay. The angel takes them, and they gaze into that open tomb. And do you know what they see? Nobody. But he's an amazing thing. Now, I've stood in that tomb. I believe it's authentic, and I've stood there. I stood there as many as nine different times down through the years. Now they have a railing there. But, you know, I sat in the tomb in those early days, right where I believed two angels had sat. I sat on this side first, then in case I missed anything, I sat on that side. The Lord Jesus sent an angel, and this is what he said. Fear not, gee, don't be afraid. They were scared to death. They had a terrible experience. They had watched the slaughter of the Christ. How could they help but be broken? You can be broken, the angel says, but don't be afraid. Somebody is in control. God is in control, and God has sent me to steal your fears. Fear not. He is not here. Come see the place where the Lord lay. And I love the way the angel put there. Come see the place where the Lord lay. Up from the grave he arose. With a mighty triumph, or his foes, he arose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. Hallelujah, Christ arose. Do you know what the angel's next words are? Go and tell. This is such a wonderful story. Don't keep it to yourself. If you're a believer who's all too often like the St. Lawrence River in Canada, frozen at the mouth, it's time you got busy talking about the Lord Jesus. It's time you began to tell about this risen Christ, your neighbors. I wonder if any of you have next door neighbors who are not saved. I won't pursue that. I'm getting, you know, I've stopped preaching and started meddling. But your neighbors on either side of you, if you've got them, ought to know not only are you a believer in the Lord Jesus, but that you love him, and he's done wonders for you, and you just wish that they would let him do those wonders for them. Go and tell. That's the end of the story here. And I'm sure that's exactly, in fact I know, that's exactly what the women did. Let's pray together, shall we? Our Father, we thank you for the wonderful story of the Lord Jesus, the wonder of his birth, the wonder of his