If you have your Bible with you tonight, I'd like you to turn please to the Gospel of Matthew. Returning to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 97. I'd like to thank Mr. Finite for his words of welcome tonight, and it is a joy to be back in Lee's Summit again. The time certainly does go by very quickly. We were reminiscing today And that's a sign that you're getting old whenever you begin each sentence with the words, do you remember? And I had the Reverend Ivan Foster, who was my senior minister for my first four years in the ministry. He was my senior minister when I was student minister in a town called Oma, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. And I had Mr. Foster in Port Hope last year. It was our 10th anniversary. And I had him for a week of meetings. And he spent that week in our home and it was just a wonderful time of fellowship. And that's what we seemed to do the whole week. Do you remember? And I talked about do you remember so and so? Do you remember this incident? Do you remember that incident? And I was then relating that to the congregation on the last night that our brother was with us. And I was saying to the congregation, well, you really know you're getting old when you keep saying, do you remember, do you remember? And Mr. Foster got up and he said, well, you really know you're getting old when someone says, do you remember? And you have to say, no, I don't. That's when you know you're getting old. But we were reminiscing today, and I remember Mr. Fineout's first, the first time I met him was in the kingdom of mourn in a town called Newcastle. I remember a brother and a few other of the American brethren over for the minister's week of prayer, and as our brother has said, we have become firm friends since then, and I have followed our brother's ministry with great interest from the early days in 1991 in Atlanta right to this present time, and we certainly rejoice in what the Lord has done. here in the summit and it is good to see the increase and the Lord of course is the one who gives the increase. And so do continue to remember us in Port Hope. It's a hard town spiritually speaking. Many ministers have come and gone from Port Hope saying it's the port of no hope because it's so hard spiritually. But we know that the Lord is able. We're now have entered into our eleventh year of ministry there. And we thank the Lord for what He has done. And I'll just briefly tell you about Joseph Scriven. Some of you perhaps know the story. He wrote that hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. In fact, he wrote sixty hymns or more. And that is the one that has perhaps become best known and has been a source of comfort to many people. Joseph Scriven was born outside Banbridge in County Down, Northern Ireland and he, in his younger days, met up with a young lady and they planned to be married and on the eve of their wedding they went out riding on horseback and they were crossing a river and his wife-to-be fell off the horse and was killed. This was a severe blow to Joseph Scriven. A short time after that he decided to leave Northern Ireland and emigrate to Canada. He eventually settled down in the Port Hope area. And there he was associated with the Brethren Assembly. He did a great work around that area giving out gospel literature and preaching and he was very much like a saviour. He went about doing good. He would cut wood for elderly folk and just did general handy work for people. He met up with another young lady and they again planned to get married. Three months before their wedding His wife-to-be was baptized in the month of April in Rice Lake, which is a lake just north of Port Hope. And in April, in Canada, it's still very cold, and as a result of her being baptized in Rice Lake, she got pneumonia. And a short time after her baptismal service, she died of pneumonia. that was his second wife to be had been taken from him. It was a very hard time for him and his mother back in Ulster was very concerned about him and so to comfort her he sat down and wrote a poem. The poem was entitled Pray Without Ceasing. Short time After the plans to be married had fallen apart when his fiancé died of pneumonia, Joseph Scriven himself became ill. He became associated with a family called the Pengellys and he became a tutor to their children. But he took ill and was confined to bed. Mr. Pengelly looked after Joseph Scriven and one morning he went in to see him in his bed and the bed was empty. And the family searched for him all around the house and couldn't find him. And someone thought about going down to the place at Rice Lake where his fiancée had been baptized. And they went down to that very spot they found Joseph Scriven dead. They buried him beside his fiancée and there are two very plain headstones just placed on the ground. One says Joseph Scriven and the other says Scriven's sweetheart. He wanted to be buried beside her so that on Resurrection Day they would both rise together. After his death, the Pengellys were clearing out his belongings. They found a copy of this poem in the top drawer, and one of the members of the family decided it would be good to have this poem printed. So they brought it to the local newspaper, the Port Hope Evening Guide, which is still in circulation, and it was printed. Someone bought a copy of that paper that particular day And after they'd read it, they used it to wrap up a parcel, a gift they were sending to a friend in New York, New York City. Whenever the friend received the gift and looked at the gift, they then began to read the newspaper. And they saw this poem, Pray Without Ceasing. The person knew a man called Charles Converse. owned a hardware store, but he also wrote music. And they brought the poem to Mr. Converse and asked him to write a tune for this hymn or for this poem. The hymn or the poem was renamed What a Friend We Have in Jesus. And R. A. D. Sankey, D. L. Moody's song leader, was one of the first men to sing that hymn in public. And one of the first hymnals it appeared in was Sankey's hymnal. And that hymn, of course, was written out of experience of loss and sorrow. And Scriven was able to write, having experienced the friendship of Christ, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear and what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Mr. Fine now took me today to Spurgeon's Library and I asked him how many times he had been there and he told me, well, it's rather like me taking our visitors to Scribbon's Grave because any time we have visitors come to Port Hope it's the pilgrimage up to Scribbon's Grave. It's about 15 miles from Port Hope and more often than not we stand there and sing at least one verse of that hymn. what a friend we have in Jesus. It's a wonderful story and again a hymn that was written out of bitter experience and a hymn that has been used of the Lord to bring comfort to many in their time of need. And now in the providence of God another man has come from Northern Ireland to work for the Lord in Port Hope. It's amazing just how all these things work out. So we're glad to be here and we do bring you greetings from our congregation in Port Hope, Ontario. Port Hope is a small town, about fifteen, eighteen thousand of a population. It's on the edge of Lake Ontario and about sixty miles east of the city of Toronto. So we are indeed glad to be here and we want to thank Mr. Finite for his invitation to come and be with you over this weekend. Returning to Matthew chapter 27 and we'll begin our reading at the 27th verse. Matthew 27 and verse 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers and they stripped him. and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited 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, Heal, King of the Jews. And they spit upon him, and they took the reed and smote him on the head. 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. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear his cross. When they were come on to a place called Golgotha, that is to say a place of a skull. They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall. When he had tasted thereof he would not drink. 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. And sitting down, they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand and another on the left. Amen. We'll end our reading at verse 38 with the earnest prayer that God will bless to us tonight the public reading of His own holy, infallible, and inspired Word. Before we consider the Lord's Word to our hearts this evening, let us unite in prayer around the throne of grace. And as Mr. Finout has already said, let us pray that the Lord will speak to our hearts tonight. Let us seek the Lord. Our loving God and our gracious Father, in the precious and peerless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come into thy presence on the eve of the Sabbath day. And O Lord, we pray that this meeting tonight might be the means of preparing our hearts for going up to the Lord's house on the Lord's day. And O Lord, what better way to spend a Saturday evening than in the house of God singing the praises of the name of our Saviour and sitting around the open Word of the Living God. And, O Lord, we pray that this evening Thou wilt come amongst us. Yea, stand amongst us in all Thy risen power, and may our time of worship and fellowship be a blessed and a hallowed hour. And, O Lord, as we have already prayed tonight, come, Lord, and touch our eyes with thyself, and cause us tonight to see, and give us, O God, the clear vision of our Saviour. May we this evening see Jesus. O Lord, take the lips of clay, we pray, and anoint them, touch them with a live coal from off the altar, and help us, Lord, by thy Spirit. O help us, Lord, to preach Christ and to make much of his precious blood. Bless this congregation. Bless the minister and his wife and children. And O loving God, what thy has done in the past, We pray, Lord, that Thou wilt do one hundredfold in the days which lie ahead. Now, Lord, come and shut us in with Thee, and bless us tonight, and may we know the nearness of our wonderful Lord and our wonderful Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Verse 27 of this passage we have read tonight, Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. The 22nd Psalm is a messianic psalm with a very interesting and instructive title. It reads, to the chief musician, upon Adulay Shahar, a psalm of David. See its purgence said of Psalm 22, quote, We should read it reverently, putting off the shoes from off our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush. For if there be holy ground anywhere in Scripture, it is in this psalm. End of quote. Holy ground indeed! For through it we find ourselves at that place where was heard that terrible cry, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? The words came from David's pen, but the cry came from the Saviour's lips. as he hung upon Calvary's tree. Yes, David wrote the psalm, but he put a title to it that turns our gaze away from David and turns our eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ, David's greater Son. The psalm was to be sung upon Adjoleth Shihar. What do those words mean? To the chief musician upon Adjoleth Shihar, the psalm of David. Adjoleth Shihar means the hind of the morning. It's the title David gave to the psalm And it is also the title David gave to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the very first verse takes us to Calvary. And we hear those words again, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? He is the Lamb of God. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah and he is the hind of the morning. And as you read through that 22nd Psalm, you read there that the hind of the morning is being hunted and hounded for he says, many bulls have compassed me. Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. The lions also have joined in the chase. For the Lord Jesus through David says, They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. But there's a third group of animals pursuing the hind of the morning. For the Lord Jesus speaks about dogs, and he says, For dogs have compassed me. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. The wicked dogs, the Lord said, have compassed me. These dogs of wickedness have cornered the hind of the morning and now they claim their prey. Who are the dogs of wickedness that have compassed the hind of the morning? What is the identity of these hounds? I would call them hounds from hell. that are about to set upon the innocent, defenceless hind of the morning. I believe Matthew 27 and verse 27 reveals the identity of the hounds of hell, the dogs that compassed him about, the soldiers of the governor. are the hounds of hell. They have now compassed him about. Our text reveals their identity. And this pack of snarling, growling, bloodthirsty hounds are the Roman guard. Look at them. Once they claim their prey, their howling attracts the other members of the pact. For we read then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered the whole band of soldiers. They gathered the whole band of soldiers. Let us then this evening reverently and with solemnity look upon this terrible scene as the hind of the morning is surrounded by the hounds of hell. First of all, let us look at the band of soldiers and the Saviour. Judas, we know, had traded Christ for thirty pieces of silver. The Jews had tormented him. Annas, Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate had tried him, found him to be innocent, but treated him as guilty. They all had their turn at Him. And now He is delivered to be crucified and it is now the turn of the Roman guard. And they seize Him and soon the hind of the morning is surrounded by the whole band of soldiers. A band of soldiers is the tenth part of a Roman legion. And a Roman legion is made up of six thousand men. And so in the common hall there were six hundred Roman guards gathered. 600 Roman guards surrounded the Lord Jesus Christ. And there the Savior stands in the midst. 600 rough, uncouth, heartless, ill-mannered Roman soldiers. And they surround the Son of Man. We first of all then notice the place They're told that they brought the Lord Jesus into the common hall. Or, as it is written in Mark 15 verse 16, the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium. This was the soldiers' quarters. This is where the soldiers gathered together, rather like hounds. They have seized their prey and now they drag him into their den. And he who dwelt in the ivory palaces of glory now stands as a common criminal in a common hall, surrounded by common soldiers. And yet, dear hearer tonight, does this not remind us that it was for the common people that the Lord Jesus came into this world? For we read, the common people heard Him gladly. Wherever He went to preach, whether it was in Capernaum, Jerusalem, or Galilee, It was the common people who surrounded him. It was the common people who gave ear to his preaching and to his ministry. And when we look at the Lord Jesus, we see one who was not ashamed to have as his earthly father a common carpenter. Neither was he reluctant to call as his associates and his disciples none other than common fishermen. He never drew back from mingling with commoners whose lives had been ruined by disease, by sin and suffering. Christ is the Savior of the common man. So tonight, if there's one here without Christ, you'll be welcome. Tonight, if you come to the Savior, the Lord Jesus will welcome you with open arms. For if the Lord Jesus was willing to enter the common hall of the Roman soldiers, He's ready to enter the heart of a common sinner. Had the Lord Jesus not stooped to enter into the common hall, he never would have stooped to enter the heart of a common man. And the Lord Jesus came, and as he stood that day in the common hall, we're reminded that he came to save the common sinner, the common man. That was His place and then we have His position. It is evident what the position of Christ was in that hall where the hounds of hell had gathered around Him. We're told in verse 27, they gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. They all gathered unto Him. He was the focus of their attention. When the call went out, the whole band of soldiers came running on to him like a pack of lions. And they surrounded him and they focused their attention on him. Six hundred men surrounded one man. 600 men focused their attention upon Him. In fact, those words, they gathered on to Him, may also be read, they gathered against Him. They not only gathered on to Christ that day in the common hall, but rather they gathered against Him. There wasn't a man in that crowd of 600 soldiers who was ready to befriend Christ. Every one of them, 600 men, were all against Him. He didn't have a friend in that band of soldiers. Everyone was against Him. I wonder how many in this meeting tonight are against Christ. I wonder if many are for Him. I wonder if we were to say this evening, stand up all who are for Christ. And many would remain sitting. And by the very fact you would remain sitting would be a testimony against you that you are against Christ. Because you see, there's no middle ground. In this world's population of millions and millions and millions of people, in the sight of God, they're divided into two groups. Those for Christ, those against Him. And where do you stand? If you were there that day, would you be in that crowd? Would you be one of that 600? If you had never embraced Him as Savior, most assuredly you would. You would stand with the 600, all who had gathered against Him. My friend, without Christ tonight, if you're against Him now, and you're against him when you die, he'll be against you on the day of judgment. He will be against you. For from that throne you will hear him say, depart from me, I never knew you. They focus their attacks on him. The whole band of soldiers was against him and every one of them was ready to attack him. Like wild dogs. I believe earnestly. It was the Roman guard that the Saviour was speaking about over there in Psalm 22. The dogs have compassed me about. And the Roman guard was the wild dogs and the hounds from hell. They had no sympathy for the Saviour. They were against Him. They had no love for the Saviour. They were against Him. They were not prepared to show any mercy. They were against Him. These hounds from hell. And yet we ask the question, what had He done? Why were they against Him? What had He done against them? Nothing. There wasn't one in that 600 group of men who could stand up and say, Jesus Christ did this against me or did that against me. Not one of them. And yet they were all against Him. And I might ask tonight, dear Aunt Siafrae, why are you against Christ? What has he done to you? Samuel, great man of God and the judge of Israel, One day was told by the elders of Israel that they no longer wanted Samuel to rule over them. They wanted a king like the other nations have their kings. Samuel was hurt. Samuel went to the Lord. Samuel was reminded by the Lord, they have not rejected you, they have rejected me. And then Samuel went back to the elders and he asked them this question. He said, What evil have I done? Why have you rejected me? And there wasn't one of them who could stand up and accuse Samuel of doing anything that was untoward then. And I would ask you this evening, Evil has Christ done that you're so against. From this pulpit you've heard the Gospel preached. Even tonight, you've been exhorted to come to the Saviour and embrace the Lord Jesus and receive Jesus of Nazareth as your Saviour. You've heard that invitation again and again and again. And yet you haven't come and you haven't embraced him. You're still against him. Why? Why are you against him? Give me one good reason. I don't believe you could find a reason. Because this man has done nothing in this That's what Pilate said, I find no fault in him. Even Junius, even Junius who had sold him for 30 pieces of silver. When he had the pieces of silver in his hand, they suddenly lost their sparkle and their appeal. And he cast them to the one side and he said, I have betrayed the innocent blood. Even Judas confessed Christ was innocent. Even Judas confessed the Saviour hadn't done anything against him. So why would you be against them? Why not tonight have done with the battle, throw down your arms of rebellion, and come this night to Christ and say, Lord, I surrender. I surrender. Notice the poverty of the Savior. Looking upon this scene, I cannot help but think of the poverty of the Lord Jesus. We know that He became poor when He became man. Christ became poor when He became man. But now we behold the poverty of the man. as he stands in the midst of that Roman guard, as he stands in the midst of 600 heartless, ungodly, cruel men. I see his poverty in a number of ways. I see his poverty, first of all, in the fact that as he stood there he had no companions. Every man in the common hall was against Jesus Christ. He didn't have one companion to see his poverty. That man or that woman is poor indeed. He doesn't have one whom they can call a friend. That person's poor indeed. Christ didn't have a friend that night in the common hall. I must confess, as I read this passage of Scripture and have read it many times, and tried to, as it were, set myself back in time and, as it were, stand in that common hall and see how the soldiers treated the Saviour. And look around, as it were, with the eye of faith to see, is there somebody, is there not somebody who will come to the defence of my Saviour? And I look and look and look and there's not one. And I feel as though I want to run into the midst of that band of men and cry out, leave him alone. Take your hands off. It's my Savior. Yet there wasn't one And when we read about what they did to the Lord Jesus to the hind of the morning, I confess I want to take a rod. And I want to run into the midst of that crowd and take that rod and beat back those hounds of hell and say, leave my Savior alone. But there's no one to do that. Behold his poverty. He doesn't have one companion. And dear hearer, tonight that man is poor indeed. He doesn't have a friend or a companion to stand with them and support them in their hour of need. And there wasn't one to stand with Christ. I see his poverty in another way as I ask, where were his converts? Where were all his converts? Where were the lepers he had cleansed? Where were the blind he had made to see? Where were the lame he had enabled to walk? Where were the deaf he had enabled to hear? Where were the dumb he had enabled to speak? Where were the dying he had enabled to live? Where were they all? Every one of them had abandoned him. Oh my, of all whom he had touched, had formed themselves into an army, the army would have been big enough to drive back the Roman guard. Yet there wasn't one convert to be found in the common hall. Not one healed leper. Not one healed dumb man. Not one healed blimers. I see his poverty revealed again when we see him stand in the middle of six hundred men and they strip him. He stands there with no clothing. We are told that they stripped him. And for me this seems to emphasize the poverty of Christ in a deeper way than anything else. For he who clothed the heavens with the stars, he who clothed the earth with grass, at that moment was without a garment to cover his own flesh. He had one time told his would-be followers, the foxes have holes, the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. The Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. He told his would-be followers, I don't even have a roof over my head. But as he stood in the common hall amongst seven or six hundred Roman soldiers, he didn't even have a coat to cover his body. He stood there like a poor vagabond, stripped of his clothing. the picture of poverty. Dear child of God, we see the Saviour stand there and know that He did it all for us. O come then and let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him. We'll give him all the glory for he alone is worthy. He who was rich became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. It's the band of soldiers and then we note the behavior of the soldiers. As you read this passage of Scripture over and over and over again, You cannot help but be touched by what the soldiers did and what the Saviour suffered at the hands of these hounds from hell. First of all, we have here their treatment of the Saviour. The members of the Roman Guard were no different in their treatment of Christ and Herod's own men of war. Of them it is written, And herded with his men of war set him at nought. And I read him in a gorgeous robe and sent him to Pilate. They set him at nought. exactly as He said they would do. For in Mark 9 verse 12, the Lord said, And how it is written of the Son of Man that he must suffer many things and be set at naught. And in that common hall, Christ was set at naught. What does that mean? What does it mean to be set at naught? The words mean to be of no importance. And so to the Roman guard, the Lord Jesus was of no importance. That was their mistake. That was their mistake. They thought that he was a nothing. They thought he was a nobody. But they were mistaken. He is the Son of God. It was the Son of God who was standing in the common hall that day. It was God the Son who was standing there in the midst of six hundred men. It was the Son of God they had stripped. It was the Son of God they were mocking. They set the Son of God at naught. They were saying by their actions, He's a nobody. But they were mistaken. For He's the Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth. He's the Son of Righteousness. He's the Bright in the mornings. He owns the cattle upon a thousand hills. He owns all the gold of old fire. And He owns all the cedars of Lebanon. To the Roman guard, Jesus Christ was nothing. Dear believer, to you and me tonight, He is our everything. He is my everything. He is my all. That's what He is. What is He to you? Is He your everything? Or is He nothing? What's Christ to you tonight? Oh, to those who know Him, He is our everything. He is our all. For we are lost without Him. We are poor without Him. We're lonely without Him. We're naked without Him. We're dead without Him. That's what He is. He's everything. He's life. He's joy. He's everything we have. He's everything we are. And everybody who says Jesus Christ did not is making a mistake. Have you made Christ your everything? Or have you set Him? It was their mistake, and then you have their mirth when the Philistines captured Samson. They put out his eyes, locked him up in prison. Then there was a great feast. And they said there in the house of Dagon, let's have some fun. And they said, call for Samson that he may make us sport. And they brought Samson into the house of Dagon and they made him sport. But it's not the house of Dagon now. It's the common hall in Pilate's palace. It's not Samson that they want to make sport with. It's the Savior. And because He meant nothing to them, they thought they would make sport of Him. And they proceeded to make Him the butt of all their jokes. the reason for all their laughter. They boldly ventured to mock him. And they did it because he meant nothing to them. He stood there as a lamb, yet at the same time he's a lion. They mistook his grace for weakness. They made sport of him and their madness. See the madness of those hounds as they treated Christ. The way they did, they were mad. They were mad treating Christ the way they did. He'd only just speak the words, and the earth beneath them would have divided and swallowed them up. He'd only just speak the words, because he's God's. As he spoke to those who came to arrest him, In Gethsemane, they came looking for Jesus of Nazareth, and Christ said, I am He. And in John 18, where we have the record of the arrest, when Jesus said, I am He, the word He is in italics. He simply said. And when he said, I am, they fell backwards and stamped. He possessed the same power as he stood in the common hall. But he stood and took it all. But they were mad. Treating the Son of God like that. Because the day would come, and is coming, when they will stand before Him, when He sits on His great white throne, red in all His glory and majesty and might and power. And the six hundred members of the Roman guards will all stand before Him, and he'll be their judge. I wonder, my friend, will you stand with that Roman guard? I wonder if we could look into the faces of all who stand before God on that great day of judgment. I wonder, will we see a face that is here tonight? You know, I often thought about that. Especially when I was ministering in Ulster in my church in Newton Abbey, much larger than the one I have now. I used to be on sea and come to those services every Lord's Day. We sought to preach the gospel to them and preach them into the kingdom and pray them into the kingdom. sons whose mothers had been praying for them for years. I often wondered as I stood in the pulpit and looked down across the congregation and looked into the faces of the people there, I often wondered, will we see their faces in that great crowd that will stand before the great white throne on the Day of Judgement? Or will we look into their faces in glory? Where will we see you in eternity? Will we see you in heaven? Will we see you there? I trust so. Notice the tormenting of the Savior. Because the Lord Jesus meant nothing to them, they felt that that gave them a license to do with Him as they pleased. Knowing that He claimed to be the King of the Jews, they adopted that theme as they tormented Him. And as I look at Matthew 27, I noted that there are seven ways in which they tormented Him. They stripped him. This reminds us of the shame of nakedness that came with sin. Genesis chapter 3. When our first parents fell, they wanted to cover their nakedness. And so the Lord Jesus Christ came to bear the shame. of our nakedness before a holy God. Secondly, they put on him a scarlet robe. They intended by this, of course, to make him a mock king. But we can see that there is a deeper meaning there in their actions. Isaiah the prophet tells us, Though your sins be as scarlet They shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Thus Christ being clad with the scarlet robe signified as bearing our sins and our shame. Scarlet is the color of royalty. Purple is the color of royalty, and they put on him a scarlet robe, and they put on him a purple robe. And bless his name, that royal robe is ours tonight. The royal robe of Christ is ours, because all who receive him, he clothes in his robe, the robe of his righteousness. That's how we're clothed tonight. He has covered our nakedness. He has washed away our sins. And he has clothed us in his robe. Hallelujah. Then they plaited the crown of thorns and put it on his head. There was no crown for him of silver or of gold. There was no diadem for him to hold. But blood adorned his brow, and pride that stains he bore. And sinners gave to him the crown he wore. It was the crown of thorns. It was the thorns that sprang up as the result of sin. Genesis 3, verse 18, reminding us again of sin. Jesus Christ came to suffer the pain and the shame of sin. Fourthly, they put a reed in his right hand, verse 29. This was intended for a mock scepter. They reckoned that a reed scepter was good enough for a mock king. But their craving for making sport with Christ blinded their eyes to the truth. For the psalmist has said regarding the Savior, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Psalm 45, verse 6. Fifthly, they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, Heal, King of the Jews. They were doing it mockingly, but the day is coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Verse 30. Sixthly, they spit upon Him. He already had spittles upon his face from those who had buffeted him in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest. They spat upon him there, and now they spit upon him again. It's interesting that the tense of the words mean that they spat upon him, and they spat upon him, and they spat upon him, and they spat upon him again. They kept on spitting on him. Oh, every one of the 600 had to take their turn and spit upon the Savior. And there he stands, drenched in the spittles of ungodly men. That's what they did. was the fulfillment of Scripture for in Isaiah 50 and 6, I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Lastly, verse 30, they took the reed and smote him on the head. Once more the tents means that they took the reed and they smote him on the head and they smote him on the head and they smote him again and they smote him again and they smote him again. They took the reed and they beat the Saviour relentlessly, mercilessly. They kept on beating him And that brings me to the testimony of the Savior. We behold the testimony of the Lord he maintained throughout this terrible ordeal. And I cannot help but notice, one, his silence. His silence. The hounds of hell have compassed him about, they have stripped him They mocked Him, they spat upon Him and kept spitting, they beat Him with their reed and kept on beating Him. And yet not one word, not one word crosses the lips of the Saviour. Not one word of complaint. who when he was reviled, Peter said, reviled not again. As they led him out to that place called Calvary, Isaiah says, as a lamb he was led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers was and his surrender. We cannot help but be impressed, yea, struck with awe as we consider the surrender of Christ to the will of God. Who could have surrendered himself to such acts of cruelty and barbarity and not have retaliated in some way? I tell you, none but Jesus. Who could have surrendered themselves to the beatings and the spittings without raising one word of protest? I say tonight, none but Jesus. Who could have surrendered themselves to the jokes and the laughter? There's none of us like to be laughed at. You know how you feel when someone laughs at you? They all laughed at Christ. Who could have surrendered themselves to such behaviour without speaking one word of denunciation? I tell you, none but Jesus. And I'm struck by something else. There's something here that is kept from us. For we are told that the Lord Jesus suffered many things. We're told here some of the things that He suffered. But He suffered many things. Many things that we know absolutely nothing about. Yet if everything was known, countless volumes would be written about what happened there in the common hall. What happened on the way to Calvary and what happened at Calvary. We are given very few details. Yet Jesus Christ himself said that he must suffer many things and be crucified. And lastly and finally I have the business of the soldiers. The soldiers, we see them at Golgotha with Christ. They crucified him, Psalm 22, 16, he says, they pierced my hands and my feet. The hands that had touched so many broken and diseased bodies and made them anew, those very hands are now nailed to a cross. The hands that had lifted up children and been placed upon them in blessing were now nailed to a cross. And the feet that had walked many roads and gone on many a mission of mercy was now nailed to the cross. the soldiers in the garments. They cast lots for his vesture. It's not interesting. They didn't want to tear his outer coat, his outer garment. They didn't want to tear it and divide it amongst themselves, so they gambled for it. They thought more of the garment than they did of Christ. They didn't mind tearing his flesh. They didn't mind tearing his body. It didn't cost them a second thought. But oh, they would never tear his garment. And the soldiers and their gazing on Christ that we're told, and they sat down and they watched him there. They watched us praying, they watched us patience, they watched us being. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, gathered on to him, or gathered against him. The whole band of soldiers. Where are you tonight? Are you for Him or against Him? I trust that if you've come into this meeting against Christ, that you'll leave this meeting for Christ. I trust that if you've come into the meeting out of Christ, you'll leave the meeting in Christ. I trust that if you've come into this meeting on your way to hell, that you'll leave a meeting on your way to heaven. He'll save you. He'll save you tonight. And he has simply said, come unto me, all ye that labour under heavy limb, and I will give you rest. Why not come tonight? and he'll welcome you with open arms. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Our dear Lord and loving Father, we thank thee afresh tonight for the Saviour. We thank thee for all that he endured and all that he went through. We want to simply tonight, Lord Jesus, to say afresh, we thank thee for saving our souls. We want to thank thee for making us whole. We want to thank thee for giving to us thy great salvation so rich and all so free. And yet, Lord, there would be others, and they're still out of Christ, held by many a snare. Oh, we cannot leave them lost and lone. We want them over there. O gracious God, we pray that thou would bring those who up until this time have been against Christ. May they come this night and embrace Him and pray, Lord Jesus, be my Saviour. Lord, write the Word upon hearts, we pray, and do our work tonight will last for eternity. Bless thy name. Amen.