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attended. It ^vas so in the days of Moses, of E lijah, a t the b irth of Jesus, and so it will be a t His second coming. (4 ) THE DEATH OF JESUS, vs. 46^49, “He gave up th e ghost.” Who can describe th e agony of those th ree hours of m idnight darkness spent by th e Son of God upon th e cross? W hat passed between th e F ath e r and th e Son is a secret known only to th e Godhead. The beloved Son is dying; th e Lamb of God is bearing away the sins of the world! The head which shall wear the diadem of empires, is decked w ith a crown of thorns. The hands, once stretched in mercy towards a suffering world, are held by cruel nails. The august body,-—temple of God, temple of tru th— is passing through th e ordeal of disintegration. F rom H is lips issues a strang e cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken m e?” (Matt. 27:46.) H eaven’s court had descended to Cal vary. Ju stice was upon th e altar. The face of th e F a th e r was averted. Jesus entered, alone, into th e judgment. He drank th e cup which could no t be w ith held. Death seized hold of Him. He yielded up the spirit. The ea rth quaked, th e ground opened, th e veil of th e temple was ren t in twain. He was dead! (John 12:32.) “ A n d I , If I b e l i f t e d u p f r o m t h e e a r t h , w ill d r a w a l l m e n u n to m e .” John 3:14, 15: “A n d a s M o se s li f t e d u p th e s e r p e n t In t h e w ild e r n e s s , e v e n s o m u s t t h e S o n o f M a n b e li f t e d u p f T h a t w h o s o e v e r b e lie v e th o n h im s h o u ld n o t p e r is h , b u t h a v e e t e r n a l lif e .” (5) THE DEVOTION OF JOSEPH , vs. 50-53, “ Joseph * * * w ent unto P ilate and begged th e body of Jesu s." Joseph of A rimathea, one of the San hedrin, was a good man. H e had not consented to th e death of Jesus and now, he who had been a secret disciple, becomes an open and devoted friend. He tenderly cares for th e precious body of Jesus. Mary, th e beloved, had anointed Him for His bu rial (Matt. 2 6 :12 ).
knowledge of H is person and teaching, one of th e thieves lifts his voice in defense of Him. He recognizes Jesus as Lord, His kingdom as spiritual, sal vation dependent upon Him. He acquits Jesus of any wrong, as did Herod and P ilate and as has th e world. H e con fesses his own sinfulness and th e justice of his condemnation and prays th a t he may be remembered. When th e re was none to publicly dé fend our Lord; when H is own disciples had forsaken H im ; when His own people h ad derided Him ;. when hell itself was arrayed against H im ; a voice was ràised in His defense,— a dying th ief becomes His arden t, devoted fol-:/ lower. W hat a fitting closing scene for one who, when alive, found close friends in publicans and sinners! The prayer of th e penitent th ief was answered and, arm in arm w ith th e Son of God, he entered Paradise. (3) THE DARKNESS AT NOON DAY, vs. 44, 45, “There was a darkness over all th e ea rth .” Jesus had been upon th e cross nearly th ree hours when th e splendor of th e noonday sun was overcast. A dark cloud like a pall settled down over the land. Silence fell upon th e people. The voice of the rabble ceased. The mouths of th e blasphemers were closed. The e a rth felt the chill of night. Men and women huddled as if conscious of some impending doom. The birds ceased to sing; the ea rth trem bled as if in the throes of dissolution. I t was not an eclipse, for it was the tim e of the full moon. Ancient au th o ri ties tell of the phenomenon and state th a t t,he stars were visible- The kingdom of n atu re and the king dom of grace are in closest touch. Jesus is th e soul of hum anity and hum anity is th e soul of the eternal world. How be fitting th a t th e g reat , event should be accompanied by physical disturbance! All of the g rea t epochs have been so
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