CHRIST CRUCIFIED
"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and
him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2
"But we preach Christ crucified." 1 Cor. 1:23
"When on the cross my Lord I see,
Bleeding to death for wretched me,
Satan and sin no more can move,
For I am all transformed to love.
"His thorns and nails pierce through my heart,
In every groan I bear a part;
I view his wounds with streaming eyes,
But see! he bows his head and dies!
"Come, sinners, view the Lamb of God,
Wounded and dead, and bathed in blood.
Behold his side, and venture near,
The well of endless life is here.
"Here I forget my cares and pains;
I drink, yet still my thirst remains;
Only the fountain head above,
Can satisfy the thirst of love.
"Oh, that I thus could always feel!
Lord, more and more your love reveal;
Then my glad tongue shall loud proclaim,
The grace and glory of your name
"Your name dispels my guilt and fear,
Revives my heart, and charms my ear
Affords a balm for every wound,
And Satan trembles at the sound."
The death of Christ was the most affecting and solemn scene ever presented
to the view of men or angels. What a sight! to see Christ on the cross
bleeding for sinners! How astonishing! to see the King of glory, whom all
the angels of heaven worship and adore, bow his head in death! Earth never
before witnessed such a sight! Heaven never before looked upon such a scene.
O my soul, draw near and contemplate it. Look towards Calvary with the cross
erected in your view, and behold the Son of God nailed to the accursed tree,
his blessed hands, and side and feet pierced, his blood streaming from every
pore, until pallid death sits upon his heavenly brow, and he cries, "Father,
into your hands I commend my spirit."
This is the scene, the solemn scene, upon which we are about to dwell. We
have been contemplating the glory of Christ; we come now to notice his
wonderful death. We have seen him arrayed in the robes of eternal glory; now
we see him laying aside these bright robes, humbling himself and becoming
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Amazing condescension!
that the glorious Son of God should forsake the realms of everlasting day,
leave the throne of glory, and take up his abode in this dark region of sin
and suffering! Boundless love! that He should expire on the cross for a
guilty world!
"Oh! love without compare,
Oh! love beyond degree;
That he, whom cherubim adore,
Should bleed and die for me!"
Christ became man that he might die for man, that his precious blood might
flow for the redemption of a lost world. The land of Judea was the
birthplace of the Savior of the world. It was office the glory of all lands.
Jerusalem was its renowned metropolis. Here, God was manifested in the
flesh. Here, the Son of God walked with man, clad as a man, in the gab of
humanity. How near was heaven to earth when Jesus dwelt among men,
promulgating the blessed gospel of the grace of God to a sinful dying world!
What joyful tidings were conveyed to the shepherds of Bethlehem, when "the
angel reassured them. 'Don't be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy
for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in
Bethlehem, the city of David!'" Well might the bright host of heaven burst
into that sublime birth-song of Immanuel! "Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good-will toward man."
Christ came to reconcile a rebel earth to the offended majesty of heaven; to
suffer, the just for the unjust; to give his life a ransom for many; to die
on Calvary. And when that eventful hour, fixed upon in the counsels of
eternity, in which the Son of God should pour out his soul unto death, had
arrived, how impressive, how solemn was the scene that transpired on
Calvary's sacred mount! How great were the sufferings of God's beloved Son!
How painful the death he endured! A series of unparalleled sufferings which
he bore in his own person, immediately preceded the crucifixion of our
Savior. In the garden of Gethsemane, in the judgment-hall on the way to
Calvary, and after his arrival there, his sufferings were intensely severe.
We design to notice these.
The whole life of Christ was a life of sorrow and suffering. He was always
"a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." From the manger to the cross
he trod a thorny pathway. For you, sinner, he lived a suffering life, and
for you he died a painful death. Should not the love, the dying love of
Christ, constrain you to love him who first loved you, and gave himself for
you, yes, his own glorious self. Surely it should. Surely your whole heart
should be a flame of burning love to your adorable Savior, "Whom having not
seen, you love."
Christ stood in the room and stead of dying sinners. He was our
representative, and as such he endured the penalty of a broken law. He bore
our griefs, and carried our sorrows. All our iniquities were laid on him. No
wonder then, that his holy soul was almost overwhelmed when all the waves
and billows of divine wrath were about to gather and break over his devoted
head! No wonder that he should cry, "O my Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me." What intense sufferings the blessed Jesus endured,
when he was about to make his soul an offering for sin! when he bore our
sins in his own body on the tree!
Contemplate the scenes and circumstances of the Savior's suffering and
death. Call up in your mind those memorable names consecrated by the passion
and death of Christ– Jerusalem- Gethsemane- Calvary. The remembrance of
JERUSALEM awakens some of the most thrilling associations that ever
clustered around the memory. Here, some of the most momentous events in the
annals of time, or in the records of eternity transpired. Here, was
displayed the most amazing and glorious scene that was ever exhibited on
this terrestrial globe. Here, on Mount Calvary, the Son of God, the Creator
of the Universe, once hung in agonies and death; and here, he accomplished
that wonderful, that great and sublime scheme of man's redemption, which is
the wonder of angels, which will form the delightful theme of the redeemed
in glory, through the countless ages of eternity.
What a sacred spot for meditation!
But turn to GETHSEMANE. This is a name deeply engraved on the heart of every
Christian. Here Christ suffered as never a man suffered; suffered for you,
sinners. Here, he endured that bitter agony for you, when; "his sweat was as
it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Now let us view that mysterious Mount, just outside the gates of Jerusalem,
on which the Man of sorrows died. CALVARY! At the mention of that name,
earth thrills with new emotions of joy, and heaven bursts into long, loud
anthems of praise. Intense glory beams from the summit of Calvary; but its
moral heights no mortal eye can view; its top is lost in the glorious
atmosphere of the upper world. In heaven, Calvary will awaken many a
glorious association, when we there look back and contemplate the wondrous
scene it commemorates. There it will live forever in the remembrance of all
the redeemed, and be the eternal source of their highest bliss!
When Christ had spent more than thirty years on earth, the hour- the
eventful hour of his departure at length arrived, and with his sufferings
full in view, he hastens to Jerusalem to offer himself a sacrifice for our
sins. How he longs to reach his ignominious cross- to be baptized with his
own blood- to accomplish our salvation on Calvary! Blessed be God for such a
Savior, whose delights were always with the sons of men! The following
beautiful lines on "The Redeemer hastening to suffer," are from the pen of
Cowper–
The Savior, what a noble flame
Was kindled in his breast,
When hastening to Jerusalem
He marched before the rest.
Good-will to men and zeal for God
His every thought engross;
He longs to be baptized with blood,
He pants to reach the cross!
With all his sufferings full in view,
And woes to us unknown,
Forth to the task his spirit flew;
'Twas love that urged him on.
Lord, we return you what we can:
Our hearts shall sound abroad
Salvation to the dying Man,
And to the rising God!
And while your bleeding glories here
Engage our wondering eyes,
We learn our lighter cross to bear,
And hasten to the skies."
Arrived at Jerusalem, for the last time, the Savior eats the Passover with
his disciples, and institutes the sacramental supper in that last gloomy
night which preceded his painful death. In his dying love he instituted that
ordinance which will, through all time commemorate his sufferings and death.
"As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on
it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, 'Take
it and eat it, for this is my body.' And he took a cup of wine and gave
thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, 'Each of you drink from
it, for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his
people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many.'" Who would not obey
the injunction, the dying injunction, of the Friend of sinners, "This do in
remembrance of me?" Come and manifest your love to the Lord Jesus, at his
own table; come, for all things are now ready. "Eat, O friends; drink, yes,
drink abundantly, O beloved."
What tender love did the blessed Jesus manifest to his sorrowful disciples,
when he was about to leave them, and bleed and die on Calvary! "Don't be
troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my
Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not
so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get
you, so that you will always be with me where I am." Consoling words! What
animating prospects are here presented to the humble followers of Christ!
Our Father's house, the many mansions of glory, our being with Christ, where
he is, our future felicity in heaven, are here, all held up for our
encouragement, while in a suffering world.
How solacing, how joyful to the weary Christian, struggling amid the storms
and afflictions of life, to find a Happy resting place in our Father's
house, in Immanuel's land! "All honor to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the
privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation
because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. For God has reserved a
priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure
and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And God, in his mighty
power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are
trusting him. It will be revealed on the last day for all to see."
How brightly did the dying love of Jesus shine in that "upper room" at
Jerusalem! "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto
the end." Brighter and brighter will that redeeming love of his eternally
shine in the upper room of glory. There all Christ's dear children shall sit
down at the banquet of love spread there, from which they shall rise no
more; but where they shall forever "eat of that hidden manna," and drink of
that living "water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb;" where they will forever enjoy the presence and
smiles of a gracious Redeemer. Having uttered that beautiful prayer,
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify
you," the Savior calls upon his faithful band, "Arise, let us go." "After
saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kedron Valley with his disciples and
entered a grove of olive trees."
The sun had passed the western horizon, and the mantle of darkness was
spread over a slumbering world, when that mournful group crossed the Kedron,
and entered the garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus had often resorted with
his disciples. The spot was well known to them all. But never before had the
Savior come here with a heart so full of sorrow. Listen to his mournful cry,
"My soul," said he, "is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry here,
and watch with me."
Your sins, reader, bore him down. The sins of a lost world overwhelmed him,
and he "fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you
will." If that bitter cup had passed the Savior's lips, where would you,
where would I have been this day? Without a Savior, without a heaven,
passing our weary days in darkness and despair. Impenetrable gloom would
have beclouded our bright immortal hopes. But thanks be unto God for his
unspeakable gift, for the gift of Jesus; for his precious life, for his
precious death, which brings salvation to a lost world! The sufferings of
our Savior in the garden of Gethsemane, were all endured for us, guilty
sinners. O what piercing agony is that which rends his heart, and forces
"great drops of blood" down those pale cheeks moistening the green earth!
"And being in an agony, he prayed most earnestly; and his sweat was, as it
were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
After rising from the earth he had moistened with his blood, Christ is
apprehended and betrayed into the hands of sinners. The sword of divine
justice is now fairly unsheathed. God the Father is now commissioning the
sword of his justice to awake against his own dear Son, who is now delivered
for our offences. "Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man
that is my fellow, says the Lord of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones."
The innocent sufferer of Gethsemane, who is none other than the Creator of
worlds, and the Author of our being, is hurried away to the judgment hall of
an earthly court, there to be derided and condemned to death by sinful
mortals. There the blessed Redeemer gave "his back to the smiters, and his
cheeks to them who plucked off the hair." There he "hid not his face from
shame and spitting." There the glorious Son of God "was wounded for our
transgressions, bruised for our iniquities," wounded and bruised until his
heavenly "visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the
sons of men."
What condescension and love are here displayed! Wonder O heavens! Be
astonished O earth! Behold that bleeding victim, wearing a thorny crown, see
his life's blood streaming from every lacerated vein, and read in that
bleeding heart the vastness of redeeming love! He who now wears that crown
of thorns for sinners once wore a crown of glory at God's right hand. What
manner of love was that which led Christ to make such an exchange as this– a
crown of glory for a crown of thorns! It was the love, the infinite love he
ever bore to dying sinners. Nothing brought him from his throne of glory to
his cross of suffering, but eternal, redeeming love. Look at the bleeding
Jesus again and again until your hearts overflow with love to him.
Pilate said to the Jews, "Behold the man!" We would say to you in the
language of a greater and better than Pilate, "Behold the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!" Behold him as your Savior, bleeding for
your sins. Behold him until the eye of faith brightens, and you exclaim with
Thomas, "My Lord (yes, my bleeding Lord) and my God." In that judgment hall
the Lord of glory is condemned to death. There "he was oppressed and treated
harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth."
But let us follow Him to the CROSS. That last dreadful night of the Son of
God had passed. Morning had broken as clear and beautiful as ever. The sun
had risen in his strength, and his glorious midday beams were now gladdening
the oriental landscape; all nature was smiling around, when Christ, bearing
his cross, thronged by an immense crowd of bitter enemies and wondering
spectators, is led away to be crucified. Leaving the gates of the crowded
city, that entourage is seen ascending the slope of Mount Calvary. What
views, what scenes are now presented to the astonished gaze. There stands
Jerusalem in all its glory; Mount Zion with its countless edifices, palaces,
and towers of strength; Mount Moriah with its magnificent temple, whose
glorious form dazzles the eye of the beholder as the sunbeams fall upon it;
and a little before you, arises a mysterious Mount, on whose summit the
cross of Christ is to be erected.
But there was a far more interesting and glorious sight than was ever before
exhibited on earth, passing before you. All heaven was gazing with profound
interest upon it. There was the Son of God, the glorious Redeemer of a lost
world, going to ransom his people with his own blood– to pay the last
farthing that God's holy law demanded- to make an end of sin- to bring in an
everlasting righteousness- to vanquish Satan and all his legions- to triumph
over death itself, and the gloomy grave. There was the Captain of our
salvation going to open the portals of heaven and lead millions of Adam's
sons to glory. There was One whose arm had made the heaven of heavens going
to be nailed to a cross! "Carrying the cross by himself, Jesus went to the
place called Skull Hill (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they crucified him.
There were two others crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus
between them."
What a scene is now transpiring on Calvary! Thousands are gazing on the Son
of God weltering in his own blood. Well might angels leave their thrones to
look upon such a scene. Well might mortals be amazed at such love as shines
around that cross, and dazzled with that glory which beams from Calvary. The
holy, the innocent Jesus is nailed to the cross for sinners! But as his
murderers are, with heavy blows, driving the nails into his blessed hands
and feet, those pale, quivering lips mutter strange words, which partake
more of the language of a God than a man; which breathe nothing but
pardoning love. It is the dying prayer of Jesus for his murderers, "Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do."
Blessed Jesus! you are compassion itself. O speak these words to every
reader. Say to him, to her, "Son, daughter, be of good cheer; your sins are
forgiven." "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!" That
prayer was soon answered. Many who had shouted, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him,"
were soon afterwards crying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do to be
saved?" They were indeed forgiven and accepted by him whom they had
crucified.
Almighty Savior! your power is the same now; break each heart of stone. Your
grace is the same now; pour it forth on guilty sinners. Then will they look
to you whom they have pierced, and mourn!
"Father, forgive, (the Savior said,)
They know not what they do;
His heart was moved, when thus he prayed
For me, my friends, and you.
He saw that, as the Jews abused
And crucified his flesh;
So he, by us, would be refused,
And crucified afresh.
Through love of sin, we long were prone
To act as Satan bid;
But now with grief and shame we own,
We knew not what we did.
We knew not the desert of sin,
Nor whom we thus defied;
Nor where our guilty souls had been,
If Jesus had not died?
We knew not what a law we broke,
How holy, just and pure!
Nor what a God we dared provoke,
But thought ourselves secure.
But Jesus all our guilt foresaw,
And shed his Precious blood
To satisfy the holy law,
And make our peace with God.
My sin, dear Savior, made you bleed,
Yet you did pray for me!
I knew not what I did, indeed,
When ignorant of thee."
For three long hours did the Savior hang, bleeding on the cross, enduring
indescribable agonies. Oh, was there ever sorrow like that which our dying
Savior felt! Well might the suffering Jesus exclaim, "Behold and see if
there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, which the
Lord has afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." One wave after
another broke over the Savior's soul, until the last, the heaviest of all,
came rolling on to overwhelm him. His Father– his own Father, had deserted
him; and from that bloody cross arose a most piercing cry, "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?"
Amid this dreadful suffering, nature seems to sympathize with her bleeding
Author. She gives a groan that makes the earth tremble, and turns the
heavens into blackness. How awful the period! Darkness covers the land; the
sun is darkened; the earth quakes; the rocks are torn; the veil of the
temple is torn in two; the graves are opened, and sleeping saints arise. "At
noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. At that
moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The
earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly
men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus'
resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem,
and appeared to many people." Well may the sun turn black in the heavens;
well may the earth quake, and the rocks break, when that divine Personage is
in the arms of death; and well may a heathen centurion exclaim at such a
sight, "Truly, this was the Son of God."
Amid this awful convulsion of nature, are heard the dying words of the Man
of Calvary. In tremulous tones they fall on the ears of the amazed
spectators; but the human ear was never before greeted with such joyful
sounds- with such glorious tidings. That bleeding Sufferer never bowed his
head in death, until he had conquered every foe and exclaimed with his
departing breath, in the language of triumph, "It is finished."
"Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures
he said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they
soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his
lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, 'It is finished!' Then he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit." "It is finished!'' At the mention of these
words the universe thrills with joy. Glad tidings! let them ring from pole
to pole– let them be loudly proclaimed from every pulpit– published from
every press; let every Christian blaze them abroad; let every missionary fly
with them to heathen lands; let all the ends of the earth hear the joyful
sound, "It is finished!"
When Christ died, the redemption of a lost world was finished. The gates of
the new Jerusalem above were then opened to admit the redeemed sinner.
Heaven was then at peace with earth. God could then look in compassion and
love on a rebel world. He could then encircle in his gracious arms the
vilest of Adam's apostate race.
When Christ had commended his spirit into the hands of his Father, the
solemn scene of Calvary soon closed. The astonished multitude began to leave
the sacred spot, and march towards a noisy city. "And when the crowd that
came to see the crucifixion saw all that had happened, they went home in
deep sorrow." But reader, follow not a thoughtless world. Stay on Calvary!
There view the bleeding glories of Immanuel. There taste the sweetness of
redeeming love. There contemplate a glorious, finished salvation. O my soul,
look to that precious bleeding Savior; trust him for his grace; praise him
for his love, and adore him for that grand atonement which he made on
Calvary!
"Let me dwell on Golgotha,
Weep and love my life away:
While I see him on the tree
Weep, and bleed, and die for me!
That dear blood for sinners spilt,
Shows my sin in all its guilt;
Ah, my soul, he bore the load,
You have slain the Lamb of God.
Hark! his dying word, 'Forgive
Father, let the sinner live;
Sinner, wipe the tears away,
I your ransom freely pay.'
While I hear this grace revealed,
And obtain a pardon sealed;
All my soft affections move,
Wakened by the force of love.
Farewell, world, your gold is dross,
Now I see the bleeding cross;
Jesus died to set me free
From the law, and sin and thee!
He has dearly bought my soul,
Lord, accept and claim the whole!
To your will I all resign,
Now, no more my own, but thine."