Well, this morning we'll be looking at Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 through 61. Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 through 61. This morning, hear now the word of God. Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of the bystanders hearing it said, this man is calling Elijah. And one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the other said, wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Behold, the curtain from the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook. The rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, truly this was the son of God. There were also many women there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. Let's once again pray. Our gracious and almighty Heavenly Father, Lord, as we look at these precious words this morning, we pray that Your Spirit would be at work within each of us, that You would be moving us, Father, that You would be molding us more to the glorious image of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for us. And our Father, we pray that You would bless my mind and my mouth. May I think clearly and may I speak clearly Your truth. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen. So often, it's easy for us to fall into the trap of trying to earn God's acceptance, trying to earn God's approval. Hopefully after today, There'll be something, a message that we can remember, that we can look back on in times when we begin to think that, well, I'm not quite measuring up. God just isn't accepting me. He can't accept me and what I've done. That we'll think back to this text this morning. This is the text that we have for us, brothers and sisters, that shows us completely and clearly That if you are in Christ, you are accepted by God. That there is nothing that you can do to lose that acceptance. There is nothing that you can do to make God love you more. There is nothing that you and I can do to make God love us less. And this is shown for us in this text this morning, in the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As our Lord hung forsaken upon the cross, this is the means by which we are accepted by God. So the overarching theme that we'll be looking at this morning is that you and I have been accepted by God through the Father's forsaking of His Son. We have been accepted by God through the Father's forsaking of His Son. Now first this morning, as we look at this text, I'll just be pointing out some things of interest and explaining this text as a whole. In our second point, we'll be looking exclusively at what it means for us. How can we apply it to our lives in real and tangible ways? So first of all, as Matthew begins, and it's a gospel account, I'll give the account of Jesus' death We read that from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, there was darkness over the land. Now, this wasn't an eclipse. This wasn't really thick cloud cover. And if you're unaware, what these hours that Matthew references here, the sixth hour to the ninth hour, this would have been from high noon, where the sun is at its highest in the sky, to about 3 p.m. So this portion of the day, there is darkness throughout the land. Now what kind of darkness was this? Well, there's been a darkness mentioned before as God was delivering his people in a miraculous way. In the book of Exodus, chapter 10, verses 21 through 29, the ninth plague, there was a darkness that came over the land. that can be only described as supernatural. And it was not over all the land of Egypt. It was over a particular portion of the land, but God's people, in the section that they resided in, they could still see. They had the light of day. So here, when we say, or when Matthew says that darkness is over all the land, it was probably only over Jerusalem or all the land of Israel. It wasn't over the whole earth. but it was not a natural darkness, it was a supernatural event, a miracle unfolding. In this physical darkness that was over the land is then portrayed in the, or gives evidence of the internal darkness of soul that our Lord and Savior was going through on the cross. When he cries out, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? In Isaiah chapter 53, it's commonly, it's the suffering servant. And in that chapter, it's recounted that this suffering servant was deemed to have been stricken by God. Now, what we need to realize is we consider these three hours in where Jesus Christ is crying out, why have you forsaken me, my God? We need to let that saying and that phrase, the full weight of it and the suffering that our Lord was enduring, weigh upon our consciences, weigh upon our hearts and our minds. This is the incarnate Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, who's crying out with a loud voice to his Father, why have you forsaken me? Why did the father turn his back upon his son? All that each of us have to do to answer that question is to go grab a mirror and look at it. That is why this is happening. Let us not gloss over it. This right here Brothers and sisters, in this darkness, in this agony of our Lord and Savior crying out to His Father is the moment when the Father was pouring out all of the just and righteous indignation and wrath that was due for us who believe in Jesus upon His Son. In this moment in time, the Son is receiving that outpouring of His wrath that He pleaded, Father, let this cup pass from me. Jesus is paying the price for our sins. And in this, brothers and sisters, is not only the wrath of God displayed, the incomprehensible love of God as well. Romans 5.28 says that God demonstrates His own love for us and that while we were yet sinners, what happened? Christ died for us. These verses are the declaration of the love of God to you and me, His people. As His wrath was poured out upon His Son, and His Son drank in full, the wrath that was given to him that was due to us. Now the crowd around him takes this opportunity to yet again mock him. This isn't a genuine concern that's being shown here. They hear Jesus saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. And maybe as he's on the cross, they can't quite, as they are no doubt at a little distance, they're not right next to the cross, as Jesus is hanging there. The guards are keeping them at a certain distance. They hear the phrase Eli, and they think maybe he's trying to say Elias, which is Elijah. And so they began wondering, as was prophesied, Elijah, Malachi said Elijah would come before the Messiah. They're not really expecting that. They're using this opportunity yet again to mock our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And Jesus had already said and told his people and his disciples that John the Baptist fulfilled that prophesied role. Now, as his agony comes to an end, in verse 50, we read that Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. There's a couple things here that the phrase crying out with a loud voice This would have been very unusual for someone that was hanging and dying upon a cross. Their energy next to nothing. Yet our Lord and Savior is able to summon the energy to cry out. And the Greek here is with a great voice projecting and crying out loudly. Another thing to point out here is that Jesus is yielding up His Spirit. The word translated here as yielded, it's a word in the Greek that can be used in a variety of different ways. It's used in reference to the forgiveness of sins. It's used when the demoniac, after he's been healed by Jesus and legion has been cast out of him and the pigs have run down the hill into the sea. He implores Jesus to let him go into the boat with Jesus and his disciples, but Jesus does not permit him. Jesus uses this word, or it's used of Jesus as he's confronting the Pharisees and challenging them as they have rejected the testaments and the laws of God, and instead are clinging to their own traditions. And he says that they've neglected God's law. So we have this variety of uses for this word. It's yielded here, it's neglected there, it's forgiven here, it's permitted there. What is the common theme running through all of these? It's the theme of a purposeful action. See, Jesus here on the cross did not die like every other human being. At the moment of death, Maybe in fear, struggling to stay alive. He willfully, and in full control and full faculty, released, let loose, his spirit. When Jesus said, he takes his life, nobody takes it from him. He was speaking the truth. He, of his own volition, let his spirit go. And this is not the Holy Spirit. This is his human soul. Jesus had a real human body and a real human soul. And he released his soul into the hands of his Father. Now, in this dark passage, in this dark imagery, as we look upon our Lord and Savior, having satisfied the wrath of God, having paid the price for our sins, we are still left with hope. in this passage as it begins and continues to be unfolded. At the moment that he cried aloud and released and yielded up his spirit, we're told that the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Some people argue and say that this was the outer curtain. And their argument is simply that, well, how else would people know that it was torn? They wouldn't have been able to see the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. But no, it was the Holy of Holies curtain. It was a curtain that only one man, one a year, was allowed to enter to offer sacrifice and atone for the sins of the people of God. And as Christ yielded up his spirit, the satisfaction of God's wrath finished, we're told very clearly that this curtain was torn not from bottom to top, or not from a ragged use, but as if two massive hands would have grabbed the top of this curtain and ripped it apart. And what would have been exposed there would have been the Holy of Holies, the place that if people went that were not properly atoned for, anyone other than the high priest, and even if he went into that curtain improperly, he would have been killed. He would have been struck dead. I've mentioned this before, but his robe had bells on the bottom. And he would go in with the ropa tied around his waist. Why? Well, in case he went in improperly and he died, they'd be able to pull his body out. We worship a holy God. And entering into his presence cannot be done without proper atonement. And what is God telling us by ripping this curtain in two, laying bare the holy of holies, the glorious hope and the truth, brothers and sisters, that we no doubt take for granted every day of our lives that we have free access to God. We can come directly into His presence through faith and not be struck dead. It's only through the work of Christ and His sacrifice. Next, the earthquake. This wasn't an ordinary earthquake. This is a supernatural event. The earth shooks, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and we're told that the bodies of the saints that fell asleep were raised. But we don't know exactly what happened between the time that they were raised and then, but we're told that they waited until after Jesus was raised to come into the city. But note the hope in what is being told here in these words. Here at the death of Jesus Christ, the saints. Now, these people had died before Jesus accomplished his work. So who are these saints? Sometimes we ask the question, how are the Old Testament people of God saved? Well, we see it here. the saints, those who looked forward to the work of the Messiah, those who in faith longed for his appearing and his work. These saints were raised as Christ paid the penalty. And then after he himself was raised, they appeared to those in the city. We also see here the centurion's confession. Now he didn't see the curtain torn. He just saw the earthquake. But these centurions who just moments before were the ones casting lots for his clothing and mocking him. The ones that had actually physically nailed, pounded the nails into his flesh. Seeing all that happened and went on, they look up at our Lord and Savior. I say, surely this was the Son of God. And seeing all that took place at the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, all this is to show us, brothers and sisters, that this isn't just a man that is dying. This is the eternal Son of God paying the price for the sins of His people. And lastly, Isaiah 53 verse 9 prophesied that a part of His humiliation, He would be buried with the wealthy. You may ask, why is this whole bit about Joseph of Arimathea? Why is it mentioned that he's a rich man? Why couldn't they just say Jesus was buried and then have the account of his resurrection later? Well, it's to show, even now, that Jesus is fulfilling prophecy. That the age of his humiliation is coming to a close. He was laid to rest in a brand new tomb. No one else was in there. He was buried with the wealthy, the rich of the land. And so what we have in this text, brothers and sisters, is the fulfillment of God's wrath poured out upon Jesus Christ. The satisfaction of God's wrath for our sins. And we see the hope as all these things unfolded according to the sovereign plan of God. And we see the glimmer of the new life that we have in Him and the saints that have been raised there. But then also we see the hope and the free access that we have and enjoy now day to day with God. And so having looked at what this passage says, what does it mean for us, brothers and sisters? I'll move through these quickly. Well, since you have been so loved, God's call is for you and I to so love in return. Consider 1 John 4, 19. We love because He first loved us. That is our motivation, the groundwork, the foundation of our love for one another, is the love that God displayed through the sacrifice of Christ. So how are we to love one another? Well, it's, you can think of it this way, sacrificing our lives, which in lives you can consider our desires, our comforts, for the needs of another. Jesus sacrificed the glories of heaven. He is the king of glory. He could have lived on a throne in ease throughout his earthly ministry. But he suffered humiliation and death for our most basic and most profound need of salvation. And in his example, what we are called to then is to love one another as Christ has loved us. Because he loved us, we can love one another. So how can we self-sacrificially love one another? How can we do this? Well, one example is swallowing our pride. Maybe a dear brother or sister may come up and give some counsel. Not looking negatively upon that, but receiving that in humility and love. But then on the flip side, lovingly coming along someone. Taking that uncomfortable step of approaching someone that needs help, needs direction. Yesterday we went to the Planned Parenthood demonstration. How can we step outside of our comfort zone and stand alongside the most helpless of our society? The unborn. What are we willing to sacrifice to take a stand against evil? To take a stand against an evil similar to the concentration camps of Germany? Will we not do anything? Or will we make the sacrifice of our comfort and of our own desires, of our own life, maybe, and stand against one of the greatest evils of our day. Secondly, since we have been so loved, take advantage of the free access you and I have been given. In Ephesians 3, verse 12, mentions the confidence that we can have in approaching Christ. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The context of that Hebrews passage is that Jesus was like us. He's a high priest who was tempted as we are tempted in every way yet was without sin. And we are called then to seek and to draw confidently, taking advantage of the free access we have to God. But then also, since you have been so loved, let us live out our new life in Christ. Who are we in Christ? What does it mean, our life in Christ? Well, first of all, Romans 6, 15 to 23, you are no longer a slave to sin. In Galatians 2.20, the life you now live is in Christ by faith. In 2 Corinthians 5.17, you are a new creation. In Ephesians 2.6, you have been raised with Jesus. In Ephesians 2.10, we are His workmanship. So what does it mean to live out our new life in Christ? It's the same way we were saved in Christ through faith and keeping in mind the work that he is doing and has done in us. And so, brothers and sisters, if we stray into the temptation of thinking, how can I earn God's approval? Let us think back upon this text. Let us remember the darkness that our Lord and Savior endured, the wrath that was poured out upon And remember that in that clear display of love, that we have our salvation, we have our redemption, we have our acceptance before God. Amen. Our Lord and our Heavenly Father, we pray that you would, Lord, help us to remember the great sacrifice of our Lord. Lord, we rejoice that we have this free access to you. May we take advantage of it. May we, Lord, seeing the example of our Christ, love one another as you have loved us. In seeing what Christ did for us and laying down his life for us, may we, Lord, live our life in you. Fully aware of the work that you have done, we are new creatures. We have been freed from slaved sin. May we live, Lord, lives of faith in you, as you, Lord, work within us and mold us more into the image of Christ. May we at all times remember that we, Lord, are accepted by you through the forsaking of your Son on Calvary. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.