Matthew 2024

I think the first is taken from Isaiah 53, which, Jerusalem is going to come and read to us now.

And then we're gonna be reading from Matthew 27, and Rory will come and read that and then preach those words to us. So first 1, Isaiah 53, Jerusalem. Isaiah 53. Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the law been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot.

And like a roof out of dry ground, he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like 1 from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and we helped him in lower esteem. Surely, he took our pain and bore our suffering, yet we consider him punished by god, stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that bought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way.

The lord has laid on him, the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, He did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he did though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. And though the lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great and I will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life on unto death and was numbered with the transgressions for he bore the sin of many and made intercession the transgressors. Sure. Let's continue to read in Matthew chapter 27. And we're gonna read from verse 1 to to 30 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away, and handed him over to pilot the governor.

When Judith, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. I have sinned, he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood. What is that to us? They replied? That's your responsibility.

So Judith threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priest picked up the coins and said, it is against the law to put this in the treasury since it is blood since it is blood money. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the field of blood to this day.

Then what was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet was fulfilled. They took the 30 pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field as the lord commanded me. Meanwhile, Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, are you the king of the Jews? You have said so. Jesus replied.

When he was a queues by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then pilot asked him, don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you? But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge. To the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor's custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowds.

At that time, they had a well known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Tyler asked them, which 1 do you want me to release to you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who has called the Messiah? For he knew it was out of self interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. While a pilot was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message.

Don't have anything to do with that innocent man. For I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him, but the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Marabis and to have Jesus executed. Which of the 2 do you want me to release to you? Ask the governor. Barabbas, they answered.

What shall I do then with Jesus who was called the Messiah? Pilas asked. They all answered, crucify him Why? What crime has he committed? Ask pilots.

Well, they shouted all the louder, crucify him. When pilots saw that he was getting nowhere, but that in stairs, an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. I am innocent of this man's blood, he said. It is your responsibility. All the people answered His blood is on us and on our children.

Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and handed them over to be crucified. Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers round him. They stripped him and put a Scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, then they knelt in front of him and mocked him, hailed king of the Jews they set. They spat on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him, then they led him away to crucify him. Well, let's pray as we consider this past tonight. Father, we thank you and praise you for the amazing gospel that you have given us here. And so we pray that as we come this evening, and think about this in many ways dark passage that you will help us to understand something of the beauty and the glory and the dazzling brightness of our savior the lord Jesus Christ. We pray father that you will convict us where we need convicting, but you will encourage our hearts so that we may rejoice in our salvation all the more for the things that we may see this evening.

So we do pray by your Holy Spirit will you help us tonight shine a light on the lord Jesus Christ Holy Spirit so that we may see how wonderful he is so that we may understand what an amazing price he paid so that we can call you, god, our father. And so he prayed these things in Jesus' name, amen. Well, I'd like to begin at this evening by talking about blood. Uh-huh. And, so if you're queasy and nauseous about such a subject matter, I do apologize now, but I would like to think about blood.

Blood is a common theme in the Bible. It's it's mentioned nearly 450 times throughout a whole of scripture. It only takes 4 chapters before you get the first mention of blood, and, that is in the story when Abel is killed by his brother, Cain. And god says to Kain, your brother's blood cries out to me. But blood is even more significant than that in the old testament.

Blood is, plays a major role when you look at the various huge events in the old testament story. So when the tabernacle and all of that is set up, blood has to be shed so that people can have atonement with god so that the high priests can go into the most holy place. Blood, if you remember, is a is something that Moses when god gives his covenant to the people. He gives his promises. He gives his commands.

Blood is the thing that Moses comes and he sprinkles on the people. And 1 of the most famous scenes of blood. I'm sorry if you hate the word blood. I'm gonna say a lot, though. 1 of the most famous scenes of blood is when the people of god find themselves in slavery in Egypt.

And to go free from Egypt, they must slaughter a lamb and dub the the the the blood of that lamb upon the doorpost that that when the angel of death comes in judgment, it does not go into a house to take the life of the firstborn child, but passes over the house, sparing those who live in it, and releasing people from bondage. Blood is an incredibly significant theme in the Bible. And so with that in mind, and Isaiah 53 that Jerusalem read, we come to this passage. Now you think, why is he so bothered about blood? Well, I don't know if you heard as we read it.

Blood has mentioned 5 times in this passage. Did you notice? 5 times you could scanned down, you'll see it. And so we're brought to this scene, and we've been looking at the the the the journey from the Passover Soper to get Emily So Jesus has traveled before the Jews, and now we come to this moment where Jesus stands before pilates, and his sentence is going to be delivered. And what we see is that there's a lot of players going on here.

There's a lot of people mentioned in these verses, isn't there? We looked last week at Judith, so we're not gonna do too much about him, but you've got the chief priests and the elders. You've got pilots. You've got Barabbis. You've got the crowds, but out of all of those people, 1 stands out clearer than all, and that is Jesus himself.

Jesus is the 1 that stands out. And here's my first point. Inocent blood. Inocent blood. I don't know if you saw that as we read through it.

But Matthew, the writer of this book, has gone to great lengths in this chapter to show you to prove to you that Jesus is innocent. Look, verse 4 starts with. Judith so cut up about his betrayal off the man that he spent 3 years with returns the money that he'd agreed as a price for Jesus' life says I have sinned for I have betrayed innocent blood. He's innocent. The word is he's not guilty.

And then we move on into the scene, and we we have Jesus before a pilot and the chief priest and the elders, and the hurling charges at him and they're interrogating him. And bar 1 sentence, you have said so. Jesus gives no reply. He's silent. He's not having to defend himself.

You know, guilty people often defend themselves, don't they? Vehemently. They're like, no. I'm I'm innocent. Jesus knowing that he is innocent doesn't have to.

He says quiet. He's innocent. And then it goes on. Look at verse 9 18, pilot's wife has, has had this incredible dream given by god, and it's so bothered her that she's had to send a message to pilot, and, and if she says, look, what she says. I mean, our our translation is a little bit lacking, and he says in verse 19, while pilot was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message, don't have anything to do with that innocent man for I have suffered a great deal today and a dream because of him.

That word innocent there is actually the word righteous. Reaches. Not only is he legally innocent, but, actually, he's more than that. He is he's of such good quality that that means that he's he's above and beyond innocent. He's he's like a god god like character.

He's righteous. And then he would go on in verse 23, and pilot goes and says, well, look, what crime has he committed? The suggestion is there is no crime to Jesus' name. And then he goes on to wash his hands, pilot in verse 24 and says, I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your responsibility.

In other words, I know that this man is innocent, and so I'm not taking the blame for this man. He's innocent. See, Jesus is in stark contrast with all others around them here. Notice all of them, throwing out words, all of them saying stuff. And Jesus just says 4 words in the whole account, you have said so.

He is pure. He is unblemished he is spotless. He is the lamb who is going to the slaughter. He is the sheep, who is silent before his shear is and does not open his mouth. This is the 1 who when god sees him, says I am well pleased with him.

This is the 1 in verse 9 of Isaiah 53 who says he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth. There is none better than this man. Isn't he isn't he amazing? Aren't he blown away by how pure he is? He's gorgeous.

He's perfect. And so what what are we to do with the man who's perfect? What are we to do with the man who's perfect like this? We should love him now. Hold him, follow him, listen to him.

Well, clearly that's not what happens in this story. So this is my second point. Guilty hands, and guilty heads. Guilty hands and guilty heads. See, it's quite the opposite to how we think he should be treated.

And we have 3 perpetrators that were confronted with in Matthew chapter 27. Perpetrator number 1 are the chief priests and the elders. The religious leaders of the times, the 1 that were meant to lead god's people in holiness and upstanding, living, and all of that stuff, and they're doing anything but that, aren't they? First 1 to 2, they're planning to execute Jesus. Now remember if you were here a couple of weeks ago, Tom talked us through how it was a complete phony court, and they decided that he was late.

He was he was he was guilty, but they know that they can't get him to be guilty because he's actually done nothing wrong in the law. So they're here. Can you see them? They're they're sort of plant they're always I always imagined that the pharisees and the chief priests and the leaders to rub their hands in this sort of plotting kind of way. They're there.

What how do we scheme? How do we get rid of them? What should we do? And what they do do is they they accuse him of claiming to be a king. That's why the pilot comes to him and says, are you the king of the Jews?

And then they go from that, and they're just throwing out these accusations. They're throwing out these charges against Jesus because they want to do anything that they can do to get rid of this man. And then it gets a bit more sinister because in verse 20, you'll notice the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. There they are using their power. You know, like people when they've got influence and power, and they can get people to get on-site with them and think through how we well, if you don't say this, then we can isolate you.

If you don't say this, then you won't be part of the in crowd. This will be beneficial for you if you do as we tell you to. You wanna get rid of Jesus. They're persuading the people to have Jesus what executed. Now the word there is not executed.

It's the word destroyed. They want him completely cut off. They want him completely destroyed out of the picture, done away with obliterated. And what is their motivation in all of this? Well, look with me at verse 18.

For pilot knew it was out of self interest they had handed Jesus over to him. Again, the word self interest is actually the word envy. Pardon knows that they're not interested in the fact that he's broken the Roman law. They don't really care about justice. They are envious of Jesus.

The word envy I looked at of is very powerful word, the word envy. It's a terrible quality, isn't it? This is what it says. It actually is the word corrupt or or decay. And it's this this strong feeling.

This is this is the definition I've got. It's a strong feeling that sours due to the influence of sin, it's the mis it's this is very good this 1, I think. Anyway, it's the miserable trait of being glad when someone experiences, misfortune, or pain? What a horrible thing that I'm glad, you know, there's always people like this. You know, suddenly you're kind of they they're they're watching out for a moment where you kind of fail or slip up, and they're like, yeah, I got you.

And the girl, like, you know, those sort of people? Maybe it's you. Maybe it's me. And they're waiting. They love it when people mess up.

Here's another 1. It says it's a displeasure at another's good without longing to raise oneself up to the level of the person envied, but to depress the envy down to their own level is to tear someone down. What an ugly trait, envious. And that's exactly what these guys are doing. They've seen Jesus, and they've seen, like, the influence that he has had and all the people going after Jesus, and they think everybody's going for them.

And they've seen Jesus how he kind of he he sort of threatens their existence and threatens their importance. And so they think, well, we don't want this Jesus. If he's gonna come in here and change our ways and show us that we're not actually that important, let's tear him down. Let's get rid of him. That's perpetrator number 1.

Perver tracer number 2, pilots, not Pilate. I was teaching, an RS lesson, and I was getting them to read the crucifixion accounts. I had the student He was like, Pilate. I said, can you stop calling Pilate? It's not some sort of weird stretching man.

Is that what you're doing, part? I don't know. I've never done it. Anyway. Now pilot, if you don't know, is this, is the governor, the Roman governor of Judeir at the time.

And, unlike a lot of other previous governors, pilot hasn't always, you know, seen eye to eye with the Jewish people. He's renowned for being a pretty savage brutal man. But because he's been pretty brutal and savage, that's putting at odds with the Jewish people, and it means that his position as governor can be quite threatened. And so he kind of needs them to be on-site so that he can rule them. And so here's the man that they can use to get rid of Jesus.

And, like, he's taken it back by Jesus, isn't he? He comes to Jesus in verse 11, are you the king of the Jews? You have said so Jesus deflects the responsibility back on to pilate to to have his own thoughts. But when he sees this, sort of, these accusations, and and the fact that Jesus doesn't defend themselves, like, like, we we said, like, didn't we? When we get accused, we love defending ourselves.

We're like, no. That's not right. I didn't do that. Jesus just takes it. He's like, no.

My innocent speaks for itself. And look, Paira's like, what is this man? Did you see in in verse 14 to the great amazement of the governor? He's like marveling at this man. He's like, I have never met a man like this Jesus.

You know, he's met all the most important people in the world probably. He's part of Romans's high society. And then this Jesus is sort of carpenter bloke comes, and he has never met a man like this Jesus. He's unbelievable. We've seen it haven't we tonight.

And so he knows that this man is an innocent man. And so he he's thinking, well, I don't wanna lose the support of the Jewish people, but I don't really wanna kill an innocent man. And so he thinks I've got a clever way to get out of this. Let's go back to my old tradition where I go, you can have this guy or this guy, verse 15 to 18. You can have Jesus Barabbas or you can have Jesus Messiah.

And so even though his wife says, and we saw that his wife has given this dream, and she's like, please have nothing to do with this man. He doesn't listen to that warning, and he gives the option to the people in verse 21 to 20 too. Much to his probable probable horror, it doesn't go as planned, I don't think. Which 1 are you going to pick? He says?

Oh, dear. They've gone for the other man. And what becomes clear in this passage, isn't it? He is increasingly out of control. He's completely losing it.

And so in his last bid, to to appeal to their sensibilities maybe. He he does this symbolic action of going to a basin and saying wash his hands as if to say, I am not guilty. In fact, he work uses the word I'm guiltless of this man's blood. And it might it's a actual Jewish symbol. You'll find it in deuteronomy that says I am guiltless.

I it's not my fault. And so he's using that probably so that the Jews the Jewish crowd before him would go, oh, That's a pretty big thing. Maybe we should actually think about what we're doing here. Or maybe it's, like, I wanna placate you a little bit, or I want to absolve myself of guilt. I I'm not guilty.

I'm not guilty of this man's blood. The problem is, pilot, you are, man. Isn't he? No 1 out hands the man to be crucified. It's pilot who does it?

And so despite him saying I'm guiltless, he is clearly a guilty man. It takes more than a symbolic act to make you innocent. And so he hands the lord Jesus over to be crucified for he is a man who is a coward, the power he has, but he's so fearful of mankind that he does the wrong thing. And he is guilty. That's perpetrator number 2.

Perpetrator number 3. It's our crowd. This is an amazing scene where they're given the choice between 2 men. You'll notice it again in verse 16 or verse 15. Sorry.

Now it was the governor's custom at the festival to release the prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time, they had a well known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Tyler asked them which 1 do you want me to release to you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah. Here's the choice.

The word the the the the actual it says well known. It really is the term notorious. Yes? It's the notorious Jesus Barabbas. And if you've read the other of accounts, this man is a wicked man.

This is a man who who is guilty of murder, is guilty of an uprising insurrection. He is a wicked wicked man who absolutely deserves to be on death row. And did you notice what his name is? It's Jesus Barabbas. Now if you know anything about that how Jewish names with Bar.

Do you want to know what Bar means? Sonoff? What does Abba mean? Sort of the father? Oh, yes.

Group. We're getting together. Greek son of the father. Now who else is son of the father? Jesus Christ, previous chapter, son of the father.

So you have here, you have 2 options. You have the choice between Jesus Barabbas, Jesus, the son of the father, Jesus, the son of his father, Adam, as seen by his acts of wickedness, or Jesus the son of god. You have the the choice between the notorious, the notorious criminal for his wickedness, or you have the the choke the choice between the the notable man who is only ever done goods. And so here's the question crowd. Which Jesus will you pick?

Which son of the father are you gonna choose? Which man? And so the crowd has said, verse 21, which of the 2 do you want me to release? And the ant answer, Barabbas. We want the son of Adam.

And so what do I do with the Messiah pilot poses to them? Crucify him. Crucify him. Why? What what crime has he committed?

All the louder, crucify him. No re no time for reasoning, no time for logic, crucify him. The word is the most, shrinking, shrieking, shouting, drown out pilot with all his reasoning. We don't want your reasoning pilot crucify him. Shrieking into a frenzy working themselves up to a riot in verse 23 to 24.

Now isn't it amazing that in 5 or 6 chapters before in Matthew 21, what have they been doing this proud. They had been celebrating him. They had put cloaks and palm leaves, and they had salted hosanna to the sun David's, salvation is here. This is what crowds are like. They're so fickle, aren't they?

You know, you've probably all seen the Simpsons an amazing, like, the Simpsons crowd is so reflective of our crowds. The 1 moment they're, like, saying 1 thing, and then suddenly the same the next thing. 1 thing. 1 0, yeah. Rosanna crucify him.

Rosanna crucify him. That's the madness of crowds. Crowds follow crowds. There's no thinking about it. The the there's loads of stories about this that that that when 1 when a huge group of people are doing 1 thing, suddenly everybody else does it.

It's a bit like in Britain, if you just started queuing up for something, people will be joining the queue. It's irrational. It's unreasonable. They just do what everybody else does. And so here they are, once they had said Hosanna, and now they're bloodthirsty.

They're bloodthirsty for the destruction of Jesus Christ. They want to shed his innocent blood, and then look at the condemning response to pilot in verse 25. It's a chilling sentence, I think. His blood is on us. And on our children.

And so with that, Jesus is sent to be flogged where a whip of multiple straps with bones and metal weighed down into it is thrashed across Jesus' back, taking off his flesh and spilling the first part of his innocent blood. And that's what these people do with innocent blood. How could they? How could they? He's so pure.

He's so innocent. Do you know, don't we feel that? Don't we feel that when we look in the news and you you see, like, a man who's responsible for nursery children do the things that he does. It's awful. It's innocent kids.

When a man in when people in in a in Canada can march into to school and open fire. Inocent. But this is Jesus, the most innocent 1. And this is how they treat Jesus. So pure and say spotless and so beautiful.

How could they? But we must hold it there. There's a fourth perpetrator. There is a fourth perpetrator. Did you notice when it talks about the crowds?

It doesn't say some of the crowd or a few of the crowds. It says all answered verse 22. They shouted all the louder. All the people answered his blood is on us and our children. All shout for the crucifixion of the lord Jesus Christ, all pick Barabbis, all sentenced Jesus to across all All are guilty of rejecting the lord Jesus Christ.

All. All. Not just those who are physically present at this time, all people are guilty of rejecting the lord Jesus Christ, and we are part of the all. Do you know that? That's what Isaiah 53 was saying, wasn't He took up our pain.

He bore our suffering. Yet we considered him punished by god stricken by him and afflicted. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way, and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Yet, who of his generation protested?

A theme which Peter takes up in in acts and says in his great sermon in acts chapter 2, in verse 36, When he's preaching this magnificent sermon, he says, therefore, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus whom, you crucified. Both lord and Messiahiah and acts chapter 4 in verse 10. Then know this, you, and all the people of Israel is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom god raised from the dead that this man stands before you healed. See, all are guilty of rejecting this innocent 1, all are guilty of shedding his blood.

See, we stand with Adam, our father. Just as Adam rejected god, We reject god. We reject Jesus and so we stand with our father, Adam. Every time that you sin, every time you sin, you pick Barabbis over Jesus because Barabbis is the man of sin. So I pick sin.

I don't want Jesus. Put Jesus on a cross. That's what Isaiah says. Put him on a cross. I choose my sin.

I'm not listening to Jesus. He has no power or sway over me. I will not accept the demands that he has in my life every time that I turn the thing on that I shouldn't be looking at. Every time that I decide to go my way, I've chosen Baravis. Not Jesus.

All are guilty of shedding the blood of a precious lamb, Jesus Christ. Such pure and innocent blood. And every single 1 of us in this room, complicit, guilty. Inocent blood is shed by the hands of guilty humanity. Do you feel it?

We sing how deep the father's love for us. And in that song, we say ashamed. I hear my mocking voice call outs among the scoffers. And so just as they shouted crucify, I shall crucify, but it doesn't end there tonight. Thirdly, freedom, freedom.

Within this story is an incredible picture of the gospel, isn't it? Here is this man Barabbas. Barrabis is a sinner. Barabbas is, by all accounts, a dead man walking. Barabbas is a man who is in chains, and Barabbas deserves everything that he should get.

Yet Barabbas is set free. That's mercy and grace right there. Mercy not getting what he deserves. Grace, getting what he doesn't deserve. And so Barabbas walks free as Jesus takes the place of Barabbas.

That's the gospel right there, brothers and sisters. But the way that that can happen is only by the shedding of innocent blood. That's how simple humanity can go free. We must be covered by his blood. We must be washed by the blood of Jesus.

We must be covered with his blood. And so verse 25, there's a great twist here, isn't there? They're saying, let his blood be on our own head and our children's. Yet, we need Jesus's blood to be on our head so that we can go free. So that we can have redemption.

That we can have forgiveness, so that we can have freedom so that the chains that bind us to sin can be loosed and I can walk out of the grave, alive now, no longer dead, but alive in Christ. I mean, the the the the the authors of the Bible, and the New Testament get this. There's so many verses that talk about, look, do you wanna hear them? Do you wanna hear them? Oh, brother.

Thank you, Dino. I got a whole sheet of them. I won't do them all. I'll do a lot. Listen to it.

You can write them down. You can just revel in the blood, which it sounds weird, but it's great. Okay? Acts 20 verse 28, Paul commands people to be shepherds of the search of god, which he bought with his own blood. What a beautiful verse that is.

There's more. Romans chapter 3 verse 25, god presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood. To be received by faith. Romans 5 verse 9, since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from god's wrath through him? We could be made innocent by the blood of Christ.

His innocent blood can make me innocent. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7. In him, we have redemption freedom. Through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of god's grace. Colossians 1 20.

Through Christ, he reconciles all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. 1 Peter 1 18 to 19. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defects. 1, John, 1 7, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with 1 another, and the blood of Jesus his son purifies us from all sin. Revelation 1 5.

I'm going to keep on going. Jeez jeez, don't be bored of the blood, gentlemen, and and ladies. Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness the firstborn from the dead and the rule of the kings of the earth to him, who loves us, whoa, and has freed us from our sins by his blood. Revelation 7. Verse 14, they have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb, and then Hebrews, which we have been enjoying at our morning service.

9 14, how much more then will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to god plends our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living god. Verse 22, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Verse 19 to 20 of chapter 10, Therefore brothers and sisters since we have confidence to enter the most holy place, how? By the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 13 12 and I promise this is the last 1 unless I can think of another 1.

And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people wholly through his own blood. The blood of Christ is so precious. And so Christ will go from here, and he will be crucified on a tree. Chuteronomy says that those who are crucified on a tree are cursed by god. So Jesus goes to the cross, and he is cursed for me.

But if he is not cursed for me, That means that the curse will fall on me. So metaphorically, I will hang on a tree, and I will suffer the divine judgment of god. Just like the last person who hung on a tree in this story. Judith. So what will you do with the blood of Christ?

Many of you are Christians, what an opportunity to rejoice? That though we are guilty of shedding his blood, it is by that very blood that we are freed. Please let that warm your heart tonight. Rejoice in the blood. We sing about the blood.

I mean, we've looked weird for it if no 1 knows what we're on about, but if you really know what it's it's really worth rejoicing that, isn't it? We can sing. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from emmanuel's veins, and sinners who plunge, lose all their guilty stains. What can wash away my sins? Oh, I wasn't even looking for participation.

It was beautiful. Nothing, but the blood of Jesus. Baring shame and scoffing rude. In my place condemned, he stood, sealed my pardon by his blood, hallelujah. What a savior?

Guilty vile and helpless we. Spotless lamb of god was he? Full redemption. Can it be? Yes, it can.

Hallelujah. What a savior. That's not in the song, but yes it can. Let us rejoice in the blood of Christ, friends. But maybe you're here tonight.

And you've never trusted in Christ's blood. Can I urge you tonight? Trusting him? He is so gorgeous. And he shed his innocent blood so that guilty sinners like me and you can walk free.

And so as I finish which tree will be yours. Christ's or your own. Which Jesus are you gonna pick? The rabbits, or the Messiah, and how will Jesus' blood fall on your head? Will it condemn you, or will it cleanse you?

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the wonderful blood of our lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that it was pure and innocent blood. No sin, no deceit, no taint, no blemish the spotless lamb who stood in our place condemned where we deserve condemning for putting him there yet it by that blood that he sealed our pardon. Guilty vile and helpless we, spotless lamb of god was he, full redemption, can it be?

Hallelujah. What a savior? And what a savior we have in the lord Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb? May we rejoice in him? May we come to him?

May we be cleansed by him? Maybe walk free in him? Maybe we rejoice together as brothers and sisters in him. And we pray this in his name. Oh, man.