But that had no bearing upon that mob. Another one shouted and said, “He’s a king. He needs some kind of a crown.” So, they plaited a crown of thorns and put that on His tender brow. They even stripped Him of His clothes that night, and they put a mock robe around His body and a mock reed in His hand.

Pilate, I think, wanted to release Him. In fact, I know he did. He said to the audience, “I’ve examined this man. I find no fault in Him.” They shouted back, “Crucify Him.” Pilate had asked, “What evil has He done?” Their reply was, “Crucify Him.” And then, Pilate explained to them, “We have here a known murderer—Barabbas. You want one released to you. We will release Barabbas to you. He’s a murderer. We know he is—possibly admitted that he was.” They shouted back, “Crucify Him. Let His blood be upon us and upon our children. Away with Him.” And all night long they mocked Him.

The next morning they marched Him to Golgotha. As the custom was in that age, He was compelled to carry His Own cross. But He was so physically and emotionally exhausted until He fell under the weight of that cross. Simon of Cyrene was there, and he was compelled to help Him carry His cross.

And they reached Golgotha. And when they did, they nailed His body to the cross, then picked the cross up and dropped it in the hole that had been prepared for it. And when they did that, they picked the whole world up that day and dropped it into the hole. And He was left there to hang and to die.

And that scene was so terrible that at high noon God sent a blanket of darkness over the face of the earth. And in the midst of that darkness, among the things that Christ uttered was, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” It seemed that Jesus was saying, “My last earthly friend has forsaken Me. This I understand. The last angel flew away at the advance of the Roman guard. This I understand. Rome and all hell are against Me. This I understand. But, O My God, My only hope, My only stay, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” But Jesus Christ had taken upon Himself the Word of redemption, and He must satisfy the sword of justice. So, He was left there to hang and to die.

About three hours later, in the middle of the afternoon, the darkness disappeared. And if you’d had the courage to go to the foot of the cross and look up into the face of Jesus, you would have observed that a terrific change had taken place. Now, His eyes are glassy; His lips are parched; His face is livid. And no doubt, you would have just stared until you cried out, “O my Father, my Father, He’s dying. The Price of Peace, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind—He’s dying. The cup of anguish is almost full; it’s filling rapidly. Hear Jerusalem. Hear you tombs. Hear you prophets. Hear you angels, and as you shade the darkness with weeping wings, announce to the world that the Son of God is dying, that the old earth may put on weeds of mourning, and like Rachel of old, go down to the judgment weeping for her children.”

And then, the Son of God took that last stone—that cornerstone hewn out of the diamond rocks of heaven, stained with His Own blood, laid it upon the last and the highest corner and bowed His head and said, “It is finished.” And when He uttered those words, “It is finished,” the old earth quaked, mountains bowed, continents reeled, Mount Hermon shook her frosty top that day, the cedars of Lebanon groaned, the mighty oak trees of Bashan trembled, and the limestone arches in Machpelah’s cave flipped and threatened to crush to finer dust the bones of Abraham because the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world had just died.

And those words, “It is finished,” were sung among the trees, sounded in the caves, thundered in the hurricanes, until every foaming surge of the sea was singing, “It is finished. It is finished.” Those words were sung on every slanted hill and every mountain peak in heaven. The angels were singing, “It is finished.” And thank God it was finished there that day, that you and I might render obedience to the Gospel and become children of God. So, when I see a cross, I think how One suffered that I might have my sins remitted.

And then in the conclusion, when I see a cross, I think of the RESURRECTON; for if Jesus Christ had not come forth from that grave, you and I would have been lost forever. And as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable.” And in 1 Corinthians 15:42 [-44], Paul said, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”

And we must realize that in every step along life’s pathway, death is constantly yawning at our heels. But Jesus Christ is our ??? representative. His body was taken down from the cross—a bloody corpse—and carried away to the grave. And on that day, hell shouted for joy; death waved her black banners in triumph; sighs ran along the bones of the patriarchs and a wail of woe was heard in the sepulchers of the dead. And if Jesus Christ had not come forth from the dead, then that grave would retain your body and my body forever and forever. There would be no anticipated tomorrow where the rainbow of hope would burst in upon the grave and wake the eternal slumber of the sleepers.