Verse For Today

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

Mt 27:21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Mt 27:22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

Mt 27:23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

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Observe here, 1. How exceedingly unwilling and averse Pilate was to be the instrument of our Saviour's death; one while he bids the Jews take him themselves, and judge him according to their law; another while he offers to save Christ in honour of their feast, when by custom he was to release a prisoner, and this prisoner he desired might be Jesus.  When this would not satisfy, he expostulates with them about our Saviour's innocency,  What evil has he done?  Nay says, Lu 23:22 That Pilate came forth three times, and professed that he found no fault in him.  Yet though Pilate was satisfied, the Jews would not be denied.
 
Thence learn, That wicked men and hypocrites within the visible church, may be guilty of such tremendous acts of wickedness, as the conscience of infidels and pagans without the church may boggle at, and protest against.  Pilate, a pagan absolves Christ, whilst hypocritical Jews which had heard his doctrine, and seen his miracles, condemn him.
 
But observe, 2. Who influenced the main body of the Jew to desire Barabbas, and to destroy Jesus? It was the chief priests and elders, they persuaded the multitude. Woe unto the people, when their guides and leaders are corrupt for then they shall be tempted by wicked counsel; and woe unto them, much more, if they follow their wicked and pernicious counsels.  Thus did the Jews follow their guides, the chief priests, till they had preserved Barabbas, and destroyed Jesus.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:24 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.

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Two things are here observable in Pilate's washing of his hands.
 
1. By this action he pronounces our Saviour's innocency, and was willing thereby to testify his own, that he did not consent to our Saviuour's death; washing the hands being and usual ceremony, in prostestation of a person's innocency.
 
But, 2. It was great folly and madness in Pilate, to think that washing of his hands did or could free him from the guilt of innocent blood. "O Pilate! thou hadst need rub hard, if thou meanest to scour from thy soul the guilt of that crimson sin which thou hast committed; thy guilt cleaves so close unto thee that nothing can expiate it but the blood which thou hast spilt."
 
Neither was it any excuse of Pilate's sin, that what he did was to please the people, and to gratify their importunity.  It is a fond apology for sins, when persons pretend they were not committed with their own consent, but at others instigation and importunity.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.


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That is, "Let the guilt and punishment of his blood rest upon us and our posterity."  A most horrid and impious imprecation; the dreadful effects of it began to come upon them forty years after, in the destruction of Jerusalem, and has rested and remained upon their posterity to this day, near eighteen hundred years; the Jews being vagabonds over the earth, abhorred by all nations where soever they come.  The just God has heard their wicked wish, and caused that blood to fall upon them in so severe, righteous a manner, as must pierce the heart of those that read and observe it.
 
God has given them blood to drink, as indeed they were worthy.  This ought to be a terror and a warning to all persons, that they avoid all cursed imprecations, and wicked wishes upon themselves or others.  Woe to such as wish damnation to themselves, pox and plague upon others; how if God says  Amen, and ratifies in heaven the wicked Jews: His blood be on us, and on our children?
 
Yet what they with a wicked mind put up as a direful imprecation, we may with a pious mind offer up to God as an humble petition; Lord, let thy Son's blood, not in the guilt and punishment, but in the efficacy and merit of it, be upon us, and upon our posterity after us, for evermore.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:26 ¶ Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

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As the death of the cross was a Roman punishment, so it was the manner of the Romans first to scourge and whip their malefactores, and then deliver them to be crucified.  Now the manner of the Romans scourging is said to be thus; they stripped the condemned person, and bound him to a post; two strong men first scourged him with rods of thorns; then two others scourged him with whips full of knots; and lastly two more with whips of wire, and therewith tore off the very flesh and skin from the person's back and sides.
 
That our Saviour was thus cruelly scourged, seems to some not improbable, from that of the psalmist,  The ploughers ploughed upon my luck, and made long furrows. Ps 129:3 Which, if spoken prophetically of Christ, was literally fulfilled in the day of his scourging.  But why was the precious body of our blessed Lord thus galled and torn with scourgings!  Doubtless to fulfil that prophecy; I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair,-That by his stripes we might be healed.
 
And to learn us patience from his example:  Why should we think it strange to be scourged either with the tongue or the hand, or with both, when we see our dear Redeemer bleeding by stripes and scourges before our eyes?

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

Mt 27:28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Mt 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Mt 27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

Mt 27:31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

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The next part of our Lord's sufferings consisted of cruel mockings. Our blessed Saviour had said, that he was the King of the Jews; not a temporal king, to reign over them with pomp and power, but a spiritual king, to rule in the hearts of his people; but the Jews, missing of their expectations of a temporal king in Christ, look upon him as and impostor; and accordingly they treat him as a mock king, putting a crown upon his head, but a very ignominious and painful one,  a crown of thorns:  a sceptre in his hand, but it was of a reed; and a robe of purple or scarlet, both of which were wont to do to princes.
 
Thus all the marks of scorn imaginable are put upon of blessed Redeemer: yet that which they did in jest, God did in earnest, for all these things were ensigns and marks of sovereignty; and Almighty God caused the regal dignity of his Son to appear and shine forth, even in the midst of his abasement.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

Mt 27:33 ¶ And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

Mt 27:34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

Mt 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting 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.

Mt 27:36 And sitting down they watched him there;


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The sentence of death being passed by Pilate, who can with dry eyes behold the sad pomp of our Saviour's bloody execution?  Forth comes the blessed Jesus out of Pilate's gates, bearing that cross which was soon after to bear him.  With his cross on his shoulder, he marches towards Golgotha; and when they see he can go no faster, they force Simon, the Cyrenian, no out of compassion, but from indignation, to be the porter of his cross.  This Cyrenian being a Gentile, no a Jew, who bare our Saviour's cross, might signify and show, that the Gentiles should have a part in Christ, and be sharers with the Jews in the benefits of his cross.
 
At length Christ comes to the place of execution, Golgotha, or mount Calvary.  Here, in a public place, with infamous company, betwixt two thieves, he is crucified:  that is, fastened to a great cross of wood, his hands stretched forth abroad, and his feet close together! and both hands and feet fastened with nails; his naked body was lifted up in the open air, hanging betwixt heaven and earth; thereby intimating, that the crucified person was unfit to live in either.
 
This shameful, painful, and accursed death, did the holy and innocent Jesus undergo for sinners.  Some observe all the dimensions of length, breadth, depth, and height, in our Saviour's sufferings.  For length, his passion was several hours long, from twelve to three, exposed all that time both to hunger and cold:  the thieves crucified with him were not dead so soon:  they endured but personal pain, he undergoing the miseries of all mankind.
 
But what his passion wanted in length, it had in breadth, extending over all the parts and powers of his soul and body; no part free but his tongue, which was at liberty to pray for his enemies.  His sight was tormented with the scornful gestures of such,  as passed by, wagging their heads:  his bearing grieved with the taunts and jeers of the priests and people:  his smelling offended with noisome savours in the place of skulls:  his taste with the gall and vinegar given him to drink.  His feeling was wonderfully affected by the nails which pierced his hands and feet, and the crown of thorns which pierced his tender temples with a multiplicity of wounds.  And for the depth of his passion, it was as deep as hell itself; enduring tortures in his soul, as well as torments in his body; groaning under the burden of desertion, and crying out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

NOTE:

Gall
 
(1) Heb mererah, meaning "bitterness" (Job 16:13); i.e., the bile secreted in the liver. This word is also used of the poison of asps (Job 20:14), and of the vitals, the seat of life (25).
 
(2.) Heb rosh. In De 32:33; Job 20:16 it denotes the poison of serpents. In Ho 10:4 the Hebrew word is rendered "hemlock." The original probably denotes some bitter, poisonous plant, most probably the poppy, which grows up quickly, and is therefore coupled with wormwood (De 29:18; Jer 9:15; La 3:19). Comp. Jer 8:14; 23:15, "water of gall," Gesenius, "poppy juice;" others, "water of hemlock," "bitter water."
 
(3.) Gr. chole (Mt 27:34), the LXX. translation of the Hebrew rosh in Ps 69:21, which foretells our Lord's sufferings. The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to Mark (Mr 15:23), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing, namely, that the vinegar was made bitter by the infusion of wormwood or some other bitter substance, usually given, according to a merciful custom, as an anodyne to those who were crucified, to render them insensible to pain. Our Lord, knowing this, refuses to drink it. He would take nothing to cloud his faculties or blunt the pain of dying. He chooses to suffer every element of woe in the bitter cup of agony given him by the Father (Joh 18:11).

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

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It was the manner of the Romans, when they crucified any man, to publish the cause of his death in capital letters, placed over the head of the person.  Now see how the wisdom and providence of God powerfully over-ruled the heart and pen of Pilate to draw his title, which was truly honourable; and fix it to his cross:  Pilate is Christ's herald, and proclaims him,  King of the Jews.
 
Learn hence, That the regal dignity of Christ was proclaimed by an enemy, and that in a time of his greatest sufferings and reproaches. Pilate did Christ a special honour, and an eminent piece of service. He did that for Christ which none of his own disciples durst do; but he did it not designedly for his glory, but from the special over-ruling power of divine Providence:  but the highest services performed to Christ undesignedly, shall never be accepted or rewarded by God.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

Mt 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

Mt 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Mt 27:41  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

Mt 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Mt 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Mt 27:44  The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.


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Here we have several aggravations of our Lord's sufferings upon the cross.  1. From the company he suffered with,  two thieves.  It had been disparagement enough to our blessed Saviour to have been sorted with the best of men; but to be numbered with the scum of mankind, is such an indignity as confounds our thoughts.  This was intended by the Jews to dishonour him the more, and to persuade the world that he was the greatest of offenders; but God over-ruled this, that the scripture might be fulfilled, He was numbered with the transgressors.
 
2. Another aggravation of our Lord's sufferings on the cross, was the scorn and mocking derision which he met with in his dying moments from the common people, from the chief priests, and from the thieves that suffered with him.  The common people, both in words and actions, expressed scorn and detestation against him.  They reviled him wagging their heads.
 
The chief priests, though men of age and gravity, not only barbously mock him, in his extremest misery, whom humanity obliged them to pity; but they scoff astheistically and profanely, jeering at his faith and affiance in God; tauntingly saying, He trusted in God that he would deliver him; let him deliver him now if he will have him.
 
Where observe, That persecutors are generally atheists, though they make a profession of religion.  The chief priests and elders here, though learned and knowing men, yet they blaspheme God, mock at his power, and deride his providence, which was as bad as to deny his being.
 
Hence we gather, That those who administer to God in holy things by way of office, if they be not the best, they are the worst of men.  No such bitter enemies to the power of godiness, as the ministers of religion who were never acquainted with the efficacy and power of it in their own hearts and lives.  Nothing on this side hell is worse than a wicked priest, a minister of God devoted to the service of the devil.
 
A third aggravation of our Lord's sufferings on the cross, was, that the thieves that suffered with him reviled him with the rest; that is, one of them, as St. Luke has it, or perhaps both of them, might do it at first.  Which, if so, increases the wonder of the penitent thief's conversion.
 
From the thief's impenitency we learn, That neither shame nor pain will change the mind of a resolute sinner; but even then when he is in the very suburbs of hell, will he blaspheme.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

Mt 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Mt 27:47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

Mt 27:48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

Mt 27:49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

Mt 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.


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Observe here, 1. How the rays of Christ's divinity,, and the glory of his godhead, break out and shine forth in the midst of that infirmity which his human nature laboured under.  He shows himself to be the God of nature, by altering the course of nature.  The sun is eclipsed and darkness overspreads the earth, for  three hours; namely, from twelve o'clock to three.  Thus the sun in the firmament becomes close mourner at our Lord's death, and the whole frame of nature puts itself into a funeral habit.
 
Observe, 2. That the chief of Christ's sufferings consisted in the suffering of his soul; the distress of his spirit was more intolerable than the torments of his body, as appears by his mournful complaint, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?  Being the first words of the 22nd psalm; Ps 22:1, and some conceive that he repeated that whole psalm, it being an admirable narrative of the colours of his passion.
 
Learn hence, that the Lord Jesus Christ, when suffering for our sins, was really deserted for a time, and left destitute of all sensible consolation.  Why has thou forsaken me?
 
Learn farther, That under this desertion Christ despaired not, but still retained a firm persuasion of God's him.  My God, my God, These are words of faith and affiance, striving under temptation. Christ was thus forasaken for us, that we might never be forsaken by God; yet by God's forsaking of Christ, is not to be understood any abatement of divine love, but only a withdrawing from the human nature the sense of his love, and a letting out upon his soul a deep afflicting sense of his displeasure which God utterly forsake a man, both as to grace and glory, being wholly cast out of God's presence, and adjudged to eternal torments; this was not compatible to Christ, nor agreeable to the dignity of his person.
 
But there is a partial and temporary desertion, when God for a little moment hides his face from his children:  now this was both agreeable to the dignity of Christ's nature, and also suitable to his office, who was to satisfy the justice of God for our forsaking of him, and to bring us near to him, that we might be received forever.
 
Observe lastly, What a miraculous evidence Christ gave of his divinity instantly before he gave up the ghost.  He cried with a loud voice. This showed that he did not die according to the ordinary course of nature, gradually departing and drawing on, as we express it.  No, his life was whole in him, and nature as strong at last as at first.  Other men die gradually, and towards their end their sense of pain is much blunted; they faulter, fumble, and die by degrees:  his life was whole in him.  This was evident by the mighty outcry he made when he gave up the ghost, contrary to the sense and experience of all ather persons; this argued him to be full of strength.  And he that could cry with such a loud voice (in articulo mortis) as he did, could have kept himself from dying, if he would.
 
Hence we learn, That when Christ died, he rather conquered death, than was conquered by death.  He must voluntarily and freely lay down his life, before death could come at him.  He yielded up the ghost.  O! wonderful sight; the Lord of life hangs dead, dead on the accursed tree.  O! severe and inexorable justice in God!  O! amazing and astonishing love in Christ!  love beyond expression, beyond conception, beyond all comprehension! with what comparison shall we compare it? Verily, with nothing but itself; never was love like thine.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Mt 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Mt 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Mt 27:54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

Mt 27:55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

Mt 27:56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

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Here we have an account of several extraordinary and wonderful things which occurred and fell out about the time that our Saviour died.
 
Observe, 1.  The vail of the temple rent asunder, that is, the hanging which parted the holy from the most holy place, to hide the mysteries therein; namely, the ark of the covenant and mercy-seat, from the view of the ordinary priests.  This vail was now rent from the top to the bottom, and the rending of it did impart these great mysteries:
 
1.  That now our great High Priest was entering into the most holy place with his own blood, having made the atonement for us.  By his own blood entered once into the most holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us. Heb 9:12; 2:1.  That the means whereby he entered into the most holy place, was by the rending of his humanity, his soul from his body, typified by rending of this vail; accordingly his body is called a vail. Consecrated through the vail of his flesh. Heb 10:20; 3:1.  That now by the death of Christ all those dark mysteries vailed up formally in the most holy place, as the ark of the covenant and mercy-seat are now unfolded and laid open, and the use of the whole ceremonial law at an end, and the Jewish temple-service ceased.
 
4.  That now the kingdom of heaven, the most holy place, is open to all believers.  Christ, our great High Priest, is entered in with his own blood, and hath not closed the vail after him, but rent it asunder, and made and left a passage for all believers to follow him, first in their prayers, and next in their persons. Having therefore boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way wich he hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; let us draw near with a true heart,. Heb 10:19,1
 
Observe, 2. The earth quaked.  As there was an universal eclipse, so likewise an universal earthquake, at our Lord's crucifixion, which did awaken many of the saints (that died before our Saviour's incarnation) out of their dead sleep.  These arose both as witnesses of Christ's resurrection, and also as sharers in it.  But none of them arose till Christ was risen, he being the first fruits of them that slept. And those holy persons that arose with him, possibly attended him to heaven at his ascension.
 
From hence we learn, That Christ was the Saviour of those who believed in him before his incarnation, as well as those that believed in him since his incarnation:  And that the former are partakers of the fruit and benefit of his death and ressurection, no less than the latter. Others conjecture, that those who rose out of their graves, were such as believed Christ, and died before him, as old Simeon, &c. Accordingly they understand, The hour is coming and now is, that the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of man, Jos 5:15 of this resurrection here mentioned.  And whereas it is said they went into the holy city, and appeared to many; it is probable they were known to them unto whom they did appear:  And if so, they must have lived in the time of their knowledge.
 
Observe next, What influence and effect the sight of those prodigious things had upon the centurion convinced of the divinity of Christ, than the unbelieving Jewish doctors.  Obstinacy and unbelief filled their minds with an invincible prejudice against Christ; so that neither the miracles done by him in his life, nor wrought at his death, could convince the high priests, that Christ was any other than an imposter and deceiver.
 
Observe lastly, Who of Christ's friends were witnesses of his death: They are women, who followed him from Galilee, and ministered unto him:  Not one of his dear disciples, except St. John, who stood by the cross with Mary, the mother of Jesus. What a shame was this for the apostles, to be absent from a spectacle upon which the salvation of the whole world did depend! and what an honour was this to the female sex in general, and to these women in particular, that they had the courage to follow Christ to the cross, when all the disciples forsook him and  fled!
 
God can make women glorious professors of his truth, and arm them against the fears of sufferings, contrary to the natural timorousness of their tempers.  These women wait upon Christ's cross, when apostles fly, and durst not come near.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 27:57 ¶ When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

Mt 27:58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

Mt 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

Mt 27:60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

Mt 27:61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.


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Here we have an account given of our Lord's funeral and interment in the grave; such a funeral as never was since grave were first digged. Concerning which, we have these particulars observable:
 
Observe, 1. The preparatives that were made for our Lord's funeral; namely, the begging and perfuming of his dead body; his body could not be buried, till by begging it was obtained of Pilate; the dead bodies of malefactors being in the power and disposal of the judge.  Pilate grants it; and to manifest their dear affection to their dead Lord, they wrap the body in fine linen, with spices to perfume it.  But what need of odours for that body did not want them, yet the affections of his friends could not with-hold them.
 
Observe, 2. The bearers that carried his body to the grave, or the persons concerned in solemnizing his funeral, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, two rich men, and two secret disciples.
 
1. They were rich men, senators, honourable counsellors; and so that prophecy was fulfilled.   He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.  Isa 53:1; 2:12. They were good men as well as rich men, disciples though secretly, for fear of the Jews.  Grace doth no always make a public and open show where it is.  As there is much secret riches in the bowels of the earth, which no eye ever saw, so there may be grace in the heart of a Christian, which the world takes no notice of.  We never hear any news of Joseph of Arimathea till now; yet was he eminently rich, wise, and good; a worthy though a close disciple.  Much grace may be where little is seen.  Some gracious persons cannot put forward, and discover themselves, like others; and yet such weak Christians, perhaps, when a trial comes, shall stand their ground, when stronger run away.  We read of none of the apostles at Christ's funeral; fear had chased them away, though they professed a readiness to die with Christ:  But Joseph and Nicodemus appear boldly for him.
 
Let it be a caution to strong Christians, neither to glory in themselves nor to glory over the weak.  If God desert the strong, and assist the weak, the feeble shall be as David, and the strong as tow.
 
Observe, 3. The mourners that followed the hearse; namely, the women that followed him out of Galilee, and particularly the two Maries:  A very poor train of mourners, a few sorrowful women.  Others are attended to their graves by their relations and friends; but Christ's disciples were all scattered, and afraid to own him either dying or dead.  Our blessed Lord affected no pomp or gallantry in his life, and it was no way suitable either to the end or manner of his death. Humiliation was designed in his death, and his burial was the lowest degree of his humiliation.
 
Observe, 4. The grave or sepulchre in which they buried him; it was in a garden.  As by the sin of the first Adam we were driven out of the garden of pleasure, the earthly paradise; so by the sufferings of the second Adam, who lay buried in a garden, we may hope for an entrance into the heavenly paradise.  It was in a sepulchre hewn out of a rock; that so his enemies might have no occasion to cavil, and say, that his disciples stole him away by secret holes, or unseen passages under ground.  And it was in a new sepulchre, in which never any man was laid, lest his adversaries should say, it was some other that was risen, or that he rose from the dead by touching some other corpse.
 
Observe, 5. The manner of our Lord's funeral, hastily, openly, decently celebrated.  It was done in haste, by reason of the straits of time, the preparation for the passover caused them to be very expeditious; the sabbath was approaching, and they lay all business aside to prepare for that.
 
Learn hence, How much it is our duty to dispatch our wordly business as early as we can towards the end of the week, that we may be the better prepared to sanctify the Lord's day, if we live to enjoy it.  We ought to remember that day before it comes, and to sanctify it when it is come.
 
Again, Our Lord was buried openly, as well as hastily; all persons had liberty to be spectators, that none might object there was any fraud or deceit used in or about his burial.  He was also interred decently, his body wrapt in fine linen, and perfumed with odours, according to the Jewish custom, which used not to unbowel, but embalm, their dead.
 
Observe, 6. The reason why our Lord was buried, seeing he was to rise again in as short a time as other men lie by the walls; and had his dead body remained a thousand years unburied, it could have seen no corruption, having never been tainted with sin.  Sin is the cause of the body's corruption; it is sin that makes our bodies stink worse than carrion when they are dead.  A funeral then was not necessary for Christ's body, upon the same accounts that it is necessary for ours.
 
But, 1. He was buried to declare the certainty of his death, and the reality of his resurrection; and for his reason did God's providence order it, that he should be embalmed to cut off all pretensions.  For in this kind of embalming, his mouth, his ears and his nostrils, were all filled with spices and odours, so that there could be no latent principle of life in him; being thus buried, then, declares him to be certainly dead.
 
2. He was buried to fulfil the types and prophecies that went before concerning him.  Jonas's being three days and three nights in the belly of a whale was a type of Christ's being three days and three nights in the heart of the earth; and the prophet Isaiah said, He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.  Isa 53:1 Pointing, by that expression, at this tomb of Joseph's, who was a rich man; and the scripture cannot be broken.
 
3. He was buried to complete his humiliation; They have brought me to the dust of death, says David, a type of Christ.  This was the lowest step he could possibly descend in his abased state; lower he could not have been laid, and so low his blessed head must be laid, else he had not been humbled to the lowest.
 
4. He went into the grave, that he might conquer death in its own territories and dominions.  Christ's victory over the grave causes his saints to triumph and sing; O grave, where is thy destruction?  Our blessed Lord has perfumed the bed of the grave by his own lying in it: So that the pillow of down is not so soft to a believer's head, as a pillow of dust.
 
Observe, lastly, Of what use the doctrine of Our Lord's burial may be unto us.
 
1. For instruction; here we see the amazing depths of Our Lord's humiliation.  From what, to what his love brought him; even from the bosom of his Father, to the bosom of a grave.  Now the depth of his humiliation shows us the fulness and sufficiency of his satisfaction as well as the heinousness of our transgression.
 
2. For consolation against the fears of death and the grave.  The grave received Christ, but could not retain him.  Death swallowed him up, as the fish did Jonas, but quickly vomited him up again; so shall it fare with Christ mystical as it did with Christ personal; the grave could not long keep him, it shall not forever keep us; as his body rested in hope, so shall ours also; and though they see corruption, which they did not, yet shall they not always lie under the power of corruption. In a word, Christ's lying in the grave, has changed and altered the nature of the grave; it was a prison before, a bed of rest now; a loathsome grave before, a perfumed bed now.  He whose head is in heaven, and need not fear to put his foot into the grave.-Awake and sing, thou that dwelleth in dust, for the enmity of the grave is slain by Christ.
 
3. For imitation; let us study and endeavour to be buried with Christ, in respect of our sins:  I mean, Buried with him into death. Ro 6:4.  Our sins should be as a dead body, in several respects.
 
Are dead bodies removed far from the society of men?  So should our sins be removed far from us.  Dead bodies in the grave spend and consume away by little and little; So should our sins daily.
 
Will dead bodies grow every day more and more loathsome to others?  So should our sins be to ourselves.
 
Do dead boodies wax out of memory, and are quite forgotten?  So should our sins, in respect of any delight that we take in remembering of them.  We should always remember our sins to our humiliation; but never think or speak of them with the least delight or satisfaction; for this, in God's account, is a new comission of them, and lays us under an additional guilt.

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Mt 27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

Mt 27:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

Mt 27:64 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 is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Mt 27:65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

Mt 27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.


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This last paragraph of the chapter acquaints us with the endeavours that the murderers of Christ used to prevent his foretold resurrection: they ask and obtain of Pilate, that his sepulchre might be strongly guarded till the third day was past and over, when probably they intended to have exposed his dead body to the view of the people; and accordingly a threefold guard is set about the grave; the stone, the seal, and the watch; concluding that Christ was safe enough either from rising or stealing:  the stone making the grave sure, the seal making the stone sure, and the watch or band of soldiers making all sure.  The stone being sealed with the public seal, no person might meddle with it upon pain of death.
 
Where note, 1. The wonderful wisdom, the over-ruling power and providence of God; by this excessive care and extraordinary diligence, the high priests hoped to prevent our Saviour's resurrection, but the truth and belief of it was hereby ocnfirmed to all the world.  How much evidence had Christ's resurrection wanted, if the high priests and elders had not been thus maliciously industrious to prevent his rising!
 
Learn, 2. That the endeavours used to obstruct our Lord's resurrection, have rendered it more certain and undoubted:  had not all this care and caution been used by his enemies, the grounds of our faith had not been so strong, so evident, and so clear.  It was very happy, that the Jews were thus jealous and suspicious, thus careful and distrustful; for otherwise the world had never received so full and perfect an evidence of Christ's doth depend.  Verily their solicitous care to suppress our Redeemer's resurrection, has rendered it more conspicuous, and freed it from all suspicion of forgery.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 28:1 ¶ 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.

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The Lord of Life was buried upon the Friday, in the evening of that day on which he was crucified; and his body rested in the silent grave the next day, and a part of the morning of the day following.  Thus he arose again the third  day, neither sooner nor later:  not sooner, lest the truth of his death should have been questioned, that he did not die at all; and not later, lest the faith of his disciples should have failed.  And accordingly, when the sabbath was past,  and it dawned towards the first day of the week, in the morning very early, before day, Mary Magdalene, and other devout women, go to visit the sepulchre, intending with their spices and odours farther to embalm our Lord's body.
 
But observe, Although the hearts of these good women did burn with an ardent love and zeal to their crucified Lord, yet the commanded duties of the sabbath are not omitted by them; they stay till the sabbath is ended, and then early in the morning they go with odours in their hands to perfume his sacred corpse; fearing neither the darkness of the night, nor the presence of the watchmen:  how great a tribute of respect and honour is due and payable to these women for their magnanimity and courage!  They followed Christ, when his disciples left him; they accompanied him to his cross, and followed his hearse to the grave, when none of his disciples durst appear.
 
Learn hence, That courage is the special and peculiar gift of God; and where God gives courage it is not in man to make afraid.

[airIam2worship]

Mt 28:2 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.

Mt 28:3  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Mt 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.


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Observe here, 1. With what pomp and triumph doth our Lord arise.  The earth that quaked before at his crucifixion, quakes now again at his resurrection:  it quaked then at the dissolution, now at the reunion of his human nature, to tell the world that the God of nature then suffered, and now conquered.
 
Observe, 2. How an angel is emplowed in Christ's resurrection;  He rolls away the stone.  But could not Christ have risen then without the angel's help?  Yes sure, he that raised himself, surely could have removed the stone:  but God thinks fit to send an officer from heaven to open the prison-door of the grave; and by setting our surety at liberty, proclaims our debt to the divine justice fully satisfied.  Besides, it was fit that the angels who had been witnesses of our Saviour's passion, should also be witnesses of his resurrection.
 
Observe, 3. How unable the keepers of the grave were to bear the sight and presence of the angel; they shook for fear, and became as dead men.  Angels being pure and perfect spirits, man is not able to bear the sight of an angel, no, not in human shape, without terror and affrightment; and if the sight of an angel be so dreadful, what is the sight of God himself?

[airIam2worship]

Mt 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Mt 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Mt 28:7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.


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Observe here, 1. Our Lord's resurrection asserted and declared, He is risen.  God never intended that the darling of his soul should be lost in an obscure sepulchre.  He is not here, says the angel; that is, in the grave, where you laid him, where you left him.  Death hath lost its prey and the grave has lost her guest.
 
Observe, 2. It is not said, he is not here for he is raised, but, He is risen.  The word imports the active power of Christ, or the self quickening principle by which Christ raised himself from the dead. He showed himself alive after his passion. Ac 1:3
 
Learn hence, That it was the divine nature or godhead of Christ, which raised his human nature from death to life.  Others were raised from the grave by Christ's power, he raised himself by his own power.
 
Observe, 3. The testimony or witness given to our Lord's resurrection; that of an angel:  The angel said, He is not here, but risen.  But why is an angel the first publisher of our Lord's resurrection?  Surely the dignity of our Lord's person, and the excellency of his resurrection, required that it should be first published by an angel; and accordingly it is worthy of our observation, how very serviceable and officious the holy angels were in attending upon our Saviour in the days of his flesh; and angel foretells his conception to the blessed Virgin; and angel proclaims his birth to the shepherds ; an angel succours him in his temptation in the wilderness; an angel comforts him in his agony in the garden; and at his resurrection the angel rolls away the stone from the sepulchre, and brings the first tidings of it to the women.  In his ascension the angels bore him company to heaven: and when he comes again to judgment, he shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
 
Observe, 4. The persons to whom our Lord's resurrection was first made known, to women, to the two Marys.  But why to women?  God will make choice of weak means for producing great effects, knowing that the weakness of the instrument redounds to the greater honour of the agent.
 
In the whole dispensation of the gospel, Almighty God intermixes divine power with human weakness.  Thus the conception of Christ was by the power of the Holy Ghost; but his mother, a poor woman, a carpenter's spouse:  so the baseness, being crucified between two thieves; but the powers of heaven and earth trembling, the rocks rending, and the graves opening, showed a mixture of divine power.  God will honour what instruments he pleases, for the women, the two Marys, is the discovery of Christ's resurrection first made?  Possibly it was a reward for their magnanimity and masculine courage.
 
These women cleaved to Christ when the apostles fled from him, and forsook him; they assisted at his cross, they attended at his funeral they watched his sepulchre.  These women had more courage than the apostles, therefore God makes the women apostles to the apostles; he sends them to tell the apostles of the resurrection, and they must have the news at the second hand.
 
O what a tacit rebuke was thereby given to the apostles!  A secret check, that they should be thus out-done by poor women.  These holy women went before the apostles in the last services that were done for Christ, and therefore the apostles here come after them in their rewards and comforts.
 
Observe, 5. The evidence which the angel offers to the women, to evince and prove the verity and certainty of our Saviour's resurrection; namely, by an appeal to their senses; Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  The senses concerning the truth of his own resurrection; Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself:  and indeed, if we must not believe our senses, we shall want the best external evidence for the proof of the truth of the Christian religion; namely the miracles wrought by Christ and his apostles:  for what assurance can we have of the reality of those miracles, but from our senses; therefore says our Saviour, If ye believe not me, yet believe the works that I do; that is, the miracles which I have wrought before your eyes.  Now as my senses tell me that Christ's miracles were true, so they assure me that the doctrine of transubstantiation is false.
 
From the whole note, That the Lord Jesus Christ, by the omnipotency of his godhead, revived and rose again from the dead, to the terror and consternation of his enemies, and the unspeakable joy and consolation of believers.