Upon the release of the infamous Barabbas, the innocent and righteous Jesus was delivered to be crucified; and now we see him suffering the reproach of the cross.

I. THE CROSS ITSELF WAS A REPROACH,

1. It was a symbol of shame.

(1) As a tree was the means of introducing the curse into the world, so hath God ordained that a tree should be the means of its removal. Hence from the earliest time, whoever was hanged upon a tree was accounted accursed of God (cf. Genesis 3:12-19; Deuteronomy 20:22, 23; Joshua 8:29; Joshua 10:26, 27). Those curse bearers were types of Christ (see Galatians 3:13).

(2) Crucifixion amongst the heathen is traced back to the age of Semiramis. It was chiefly inflicted on slaves; on free persons only when convicted of the most heinous crimes. Hence Paul's emphatic "even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8).

(3) It was a part of the reproach of a criminal that he had to carry his own cross to the place of execution. Plutarch says, "Every kind of wickedness produces its own peculiar torment, just as malefactors when brought forth to execution carry their own crosses." So Jesus carried his cross until he sank under it (see John 19:17), overcome by exhaustion through his agony in the garden followed by his sufferings in the Praetorium. He carried it as Isaac carried the wood upon which he was to be offered up.

(4) So shameful a thing was the cross, that no Jew or Roman citizen could be induced to carry one. Hence Simon the Cyrenian was impressed to bear the cross of Jesus. Probably he was pointed out as a disciple of Jesus (cf. Mark 15:21; Romans 16:13). He became thereby the honoured representative of the suffering followers of Christ in every age (cf. Matthew 16:24; Hebrews 13:13).

2. It was an instrument of shame.

(1) There was a cruel torture inflicted upon the victim before he came to his crucifixion. Jesus was accordingly delivered by Pilate to be scourged, preparatory to his being crucified. The soldiers to the scourging added cruel mockings.

(2) At the place of execution he was stripped of his garments. "The poorest man dies with some clothing on, Jesus with none; and his garments fall not to his friends, but to the soldiers who crucified him" (Harmer). David said in the spirit of prophecy of Christ, for it was never true of himself, "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture" (Psalm 22:18).

(3) Then came the actual crucifixion. The stretching of the victim upon the wood. The transfixing. The concussion through the striking the foot of the cross into the hole dug for its reception, by which the bones became dislocated (see Psalm 22:14). The lingering torture, the vitals being avoided. "The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

II. REPROACH WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

1. In the place of the crucifixion.

(1) "A place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull." It had its name from being the place of common execution. Christ being crucified there gives expressiveness to the prediction of Isaiah, "numbered with the transgressors."

(2) The ghastly place was an emblem of the devastated state of the Church that crucified Christ. So of every Church member who crucifies him afresh. But to the repentant sinner it is the end of death and beginning of life. "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate (Hebrews 13:12).

(3) "Golgotha" (גלגלת) resembles "Gilgal," with the Syriac addition (אּתא). The latter place was named by Joshua to commemorate the temporal redemption of Israel from the reproach of Egypt. In the former place Jesus freed his people by a spiritual redemption from the reproach of sin (see Joshua 5:9).

2. In the inscription on the cross.

(1) "His accusation written" (ver. 37). It was common to affix a label to the cross, giving a statement of the crime for which the person suffered.

(2) But the accusation of Jesus alleged no crime. It was really an accusation of the priests. They condemned Jesus for blasphemy, but had him crucified for treason. It impeached them as murderers.

(3) The accusation of Jesus asserted a glorious truth. The truth was emphasized by being three times written, viz. in three languages. Pilate could not be induced to alter what he had written (see John 19:21). Like Balaam, he blessed when he was entreated to curse (see Numbers 24:10).

(4) When we look at the cross as the emblem of suffering, we see over the head of the Sufferer the promise of triumph and the hope of glory. Sanctified suffering evermore brings forth this fruit.

3. In the characters crucified along with him.

(1) "Two robbers, one on the right hand, and one on the left." Placing the Lord between the robbers was intended to stigmatize him with peculiar infamy, as if he were the greater criminal of the three.

(2) Herein note a further fulfilment of the words of Isaiah, "He was numbered with the transgressors." He was so numbered that we may be numbered with his saints.

III. REPROACH WAS CAST UPON HIM.

1. By those that passed by.

(1) "They railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself." Here is a shameful misconstruction of his words. Cruelty has its refuge in falsehood. "Save." They mock at the name of Jesus, equivalent to" Saviour."

(2) "If thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross." Had he not by many miracles proved himself the Son of God? He would not save himself by coming down from the cross, his gracious purpose being to sacrifice himself in order to save sinners. The sign he had given them was not his coming down from the cross, but his coming up from the grave.

(3) Why have they not the patience of the "three days" to which they referred, and they might see the raising of the temple of his body?

(4) The wagging of the head was the expression of a malicious triumph. Little did they consider that this very gesture was the fulfilment of a prophecy to their dishonour (see Psalm 22:7).

2. By the heads of the nation.

(1) "In like manner also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders said, He saved others; can he not save himself?" A Saviour who saves not, but sacrifices himself to be the victim for salvation to others, they cannot understand.

(2) "He is the King of Israel." Here is irony founded on the inscription which they could not induce Pilate to alter. "Let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him." Sceptics are ever ready to prescribe to God what miracles he must work in order to gain their confidence, as though that confidence also were an infinite benefit to him. When Christ gave them the more astonishing evidence of his Messiahship by rising from the dead, they did not believe. His completing his work and not coming down from the cross is the reason why we believe.

(3) "He trusteth in God; let him deliver him now if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God." In this railing they unwittingly fulfil a remarkable prophecy of the Messiah (see Psalm 22:8). The fulfilment of the predictions concerning the sufferings of Messiah by the enemies of Jesus establishes his claims.

3. By the impenitent malefactor.

(1) "And the robbers also," or one of them "that were crucified with him, cast upon him the same reproach." The plural is sometimes put for the singular as, "They are dead," meaning only Herod (Matthew 2:20); and, "When the disciples saw it they had indignation," meaning only Judas (Matthew 26:8; John 12:4).

(2) The arguments used by the railers are the stock arguments of infidels. Libertines like the Jews are offended at the paradoxes of a High Priest who designs to destroy the temple; at a Saviour who saves not himself; at the Son of God submitting to be crucified. But in these very paradoxes the believer finds the sources of the joys of salvation. - J.A.M.

The thought of those who with tender heart watch by the cross of Jesus.

I. The first thought concerns the visible tragic elements of the scene.

II. The contemplation of the sufferer, His character, and His works.

III. The Divine permission of these atrocities.

IV. What a plenitude of grace there is in this Divine provision.

(J. H. Davison.)

I. The spectacle.

1. There was that which all might see.

2. There was that which only enlightened and quickened minds can see.

II. The spectators and their various emotions. Of the spectators some were —

1. Bad.

2. Hopeful.

3. Good.

(Anon.)

I. The PROCESS of the crucifixion.

1. The preliminary by which it was preceded.

2. The act itself.

3. The explanation by which the act was accompanied.

II. The DESIGNS of the crucifixion.

1. It was the accomplishment of a Divine purpose.

2. In order to offer an all-sufficient atonement for human sin.

3. In order that it might found for our Lord an exalted mediatorial empire.

III. The CONCLUSIONS which the crucifixion should leave on the hearts of those who contemplate it.

1. To esteem supremely the love from which it emanated.

2. To repent humbly of the transgressions it was necessary to pardon.

3. To repose implicitly upon the merit by which it is signalized.

4. To avow zealously the cause with which it is identified.

(J. Parsons.)

I. What they did to Him. "They crucified Him."

II. How He conducted Himself under it.

III. The results of all this.

1. A great consternation did befall the universe at this crucifixion.

2. It gave to the church its sublimest and most central theme.

3. It established a city of refuge for guilty men.

4. It was the opening of a fountain for the washing away of sin.

5. It was the stretching forth of a mighty hand to help, comfort, and deliver in every time of need.

6. It gave to the believing soul a pillow on which to lie down and peace.

(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)

That is the Bible's picture of gamblers. What is gambling? It is neither begging nor stealing, but it resembles both in that it consists in getting money from another for which you have rendered no honest equivalent. The winner of a bet has rendered no service at all to country or to the individual; and ought to feel a sense of theft. Do you ask where is God's commandment against it? "In its results scored deeply on the character of gamblers." The love of gaming springs from the love of excitement that is in our nature. It unfits a man for life's duties. It is strange how uniformly no good comes of it. It has been disallowed by all ethical and religious teachers.

(B. J. Snell, M. A.)

In honest business you give an equivalent for so much received. It may be a service, or it may be the result of service. The farmer gives his farm produce, the result of his toil; the mechanic renders his skill; the pilot his knowledge of the channel; the lawyer his acute knowledge required to navigate channels more intricate. In any one of these cases money is earned by the performance of actual service, and in every case the body politic is the richer for the service. But gambling is unproductive, the wealth of the whole body is not increased. The only result is the circulation of moneys, and even that is a questionable benefit seeing that the cash is but transferred from the pocket of the fools to the pocket of the knaves, always with a contingent reversion to the publican. The community is no more enriched by the mere circulation of gold than the level of a pool is raised by a tempest blowing upon it; gain in one direction is balanced by loss in another.

(B. J. Snell, M. A.)

The love of gaming springs from the love of excitement that is in our nature. This has existed always and everywhere. Tacitus says that the ancient Germans would stake their property and even their life on the throw of the dice-box. The typical Asiatic will risk child or wife on the turn of a die or the fighting of a game-cock. Civilization does not seem to diminish the fascination of gambling. And excitement, so long as it is within bounds, is healthful, bracing, and necessary; beyond these bounds (which no man can well define for another), it is exhausting and destructive. At first a man bets to gain a new sensation, a certain thrill of the nerves; to repeat the pleasant thrill an increased dose is necessary. The sensation itself palls; it must be intensified. The process itself is luring, and at last it heats every part of the mind like an oven. It is notorious that the passion grows; no more experiments need to be tried in that direction, vivisection could not demonstrate it more amply. The winnings that come so easily are not so much the gifts of fortune as they are the baits of misfortune that lead on to beggary. Nice distinctions are drawn between "playing" and gambling. Play is harmless so long as it is play; but "playing" is a seed that comes up "gambling." It is a dangerous seed to play with. Not drunkenness itself is as hard to cure as is the gambling mania when it has once enthralled a man; he cares only for it — every passion is absorbed into that one intense consuming lust. The day lags heavy on his hands without it, all other pursuits are tasteless; he is only alive when he is gaming, and then the very dregs of his soul are stirred into fearful activity.

(B. J. Snell, M. A.)

Note the varied types of watchers around the cross.

1. The careless watch of the soldiers.

2. The jealous watch of the enemies.

3. The anxious watch of the women.

4. The wondering watch of angels on high.

(Anon.)

These rude soldiers had doubtless joined with their comrades in the coarse mockery which preceded the sad procession to Calvary; and then they had to do the rough work of the executioners, fastening the sufferers to the rude wooden crosses, lifting these with their burden, fixing them into the ground, then parting the raiment. And when all that is done they sit stolidly down to take their ease at the foot of the cross, and idly to wait, with eyes that look and see nothing, until the sufferers die. A strange picture!

I. How IGNORANT MEN ARE OF THE REAL MEANING AND OUTCOME OF WHAT THEY DO. Think of what a corporal's guard of rough English soldiers, out in Northern India, would think if they were bade to hang a native charged with rebellion against the British Government. So much, and no more did these men know of what they were doing. And so with us all. No man knows the real meaning, the possible issue and outcome of a great deal in our lives. If we are wise, we will let results alone, and just take care that our motive is right.

II. RESPONSIBILITY IS LIMITED BY KNOWLEDGE. These men were ignorant of what they were doing, and therefore guiltless. God weighs, not counts, our actions.

III. IT IS POSSIBLE TO LOOK AT CHRIST ON THE CROSS AND SEE NOTHING. For half a day there these soldiers sat, and it was but a dying Jew they saw — one of three. They were the unmoved witnesses of God manifest in the flesh, dying on the cross for the whole world, and for them. Their ignorance made them blind. Let us all pray to have our ignorance and blindness removed, our hearts softened by the sight of Christ crucified for us.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Barabbas, Eli, Elias, Elijah, Israelites, James, Jeremiah, Jeremias, Jeremy, Jesus, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Mary, Pilate, Simon, Zabdi, ZebedeeArimathea, Cyrene, Field of Blood, Galilee, Golgotha, Jerusalem, Place of the SkullDead, Golgotha, Gol'gotha, Man's, Named, Skull, Skull-ground1. Jesus is delivered bound to Pilate.
3. Judas hangs himself.
19. Pilate, admonished of his wife,
20. and being urged by the multitude, washes his hands, and releases Barabbas.
27. Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns;
33. crucified;
39. reviled;
50. dies, and is buried;
62. his tomb is sealed and watched.

Matthew 27:28-50

     2060   Christ, patience of

Matthew 27:32-33

     5281   crucifixion

Matthew 27:32-38

     2412   cross, accounts of

Matthew 27:33-34

     4452   gall

Matthew 27:33-44

     5879   humiliation

The Blind Watchers at the Cross
'And sitting down they watched Him there.' --MATT. xxvii. 36. Our thoughts are, rightly, so absorbed by the central Figure in this great chapter that we pass by almost unnoticed the groups round the cross. And yet there are large lessons to be learned from each of them. These rude soldiers, four in number, as we infer from John's Gospel, had no doubt joined with their comrades in the coarse mockery which preceded the sad procession to Calvary; and then they had to do the rough work of the executioners, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Veil Rent
'Behold, the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.'--MATT. xxvii. 51. As I suppose we are all aware, the Jewish Temple was divided into three parts: the Outer Court, open to all; the Holy Place, to which the ministering priests had daily access to burn incense and trim the lamps; and the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest was permitted to go, and that but once a year, on the great Day of Atonement. For the other three hundred and sixty-four days the shrine lay silent, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Sentence which Condemned the Judges
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. 12. And when He was accused of the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13. Then said Pilate unto Him, Hearest Thou not how many things they witness against Thee? 14. And He answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. 15. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Crucifixion
'And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 34. They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink. 35. 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. 36. And sitting down they watched Him there; 37. And set up over His head His accusation written, THIS …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'See Thou to That!'
'I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. 24. I am innocent of the blood of this just Person: see ye to it.'--MATT. xxvii. 4, 24. So, what the priests said to Judas, Pilate said to the priests. They contemptuously bade their wretched instrument bear the burden of his own treachery. They had condescended to use his services, but he presumed too far if he thought that that gave him a claim upon their sympathies. The tools of more …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Taunts Turning to Testimonies
'... The chief priests mocking Him ... said, 42. He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him.' --MATT. xxvii. 41-43. It is an old saying that the corruption of the best is the worst. What is more merciful and pitiful than true religion? What is more merciless and malicious than hatred which calls itself 'religious'? These priests, like many a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Fourth Word
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani."--ST. MATT. XXVII. 46; ST. MARK XV. 34. There are three peculiar and distinguishing features of this fourth word which our Saviour uttered from His Cross. 1. It is the only one of the Seven which finds a place in the earliest record of our Lord's life, contained in the matter common to St. Matthew and St. Mark. 2. It is the only one which has been preserved to us in the original Aramaic, in the very syllables which were formed by the lips of Christ. 3. It is the …
J. H. Beibitz—Gloria Crucis

Let Him Deliver Him Now
It is very painful to the heart to picture our blessed Master in his death-agonies, surrounded by a ribald multitude, who watched him and mocked him, made sport of his prayer and insulted his faith. Nothing was sacred to them: they invaded the Holy of holies of his confidence in God, and taunted him concerning that faith in Jehovah which they were compelled to admit. See, dear friends, what an evil thing is sin, since the Sin-bearer suffers so bitterly to make atonement for it! See, also, the shame …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

The Rent Veil
THE DEATH of our Lord Jesus Christ was fitly surrounded by miracles; yet it is itself so much greater a wonder than all besides, that it as far exceeds them as the sun outshines the planets which surround it. It seems natural enough that the earth should quake, that tombs should be opened, and that the veil of the temple should be rent, when He who only hath immortality gives up the ghost. The more you think of the death of the Son of God, the more will you be amazed at it. As much as a miracle excels …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

Lama Sabachthani?
Our Lord was then in the darkest part of his way. He had trodden the winepress now for hours, and the work was almost finished. He had reached the culminating point of his anguish. This is his dolorous lament from the lowest pit of misery--"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" I do not think that the records of time or even of eternity, contain a sentence more full of anguish. Here the wormwood and the gall, and all the other bitternesses, are outdone. Here you may look as into a vast abyss; …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 36: 1890

Our Lord's Solemn Enquiry
"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"--Matthew 27:46. IF any one of us, lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ had been anywhere near the cross when he uttered those words, I am sure our hearts would have burst with anguish, and one thing is certain--we should have heard the tones of that dying cry as long as ever we lived. There is no doubt that at certain times they would come to us again, ringing shrill and clear through the thick darkness. We should …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

The Eloi.
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"--ST MATTHEW xxvii. 46. I do not know that I should dare to approach this, of all utterances into which human breath has ever been moulded, most awful in import, did I not feel that, containing both germ and blossom of the final devotion, it contains therefore the deepest practical lesson the human heart has to learn. The Lord, the Revealer, hides nothing that can be revealed, and will not warn away the foot that treads in naked humility even upon the …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

Third Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Formally Condemned by the Sanhedrin and Led to Pilate.
(Jerusalem. Friday After Dawn.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 1, 2; ^B Mark XV. 1; ^C Luke XXII. 66-23:1; ^D John XVIII. 28. ^a 1 Now when morning was come, ^c 66 And as soon as it was day, ^b straightway ^c the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away into their council, ^a all the chief priests and { ^b with} the elders ^a of the people ^b and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and ^a took counsel against Jesus to put …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

First Stage of the Roman Trial. Jesus Before Pilate for the First Time.
(Jerusalem. Early Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 11-14; ^B Mark XV. 2-5; ^C Luke XXIII. 2-5; ^D John XVIII. 28-38. ^d and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. [See p. 641.] 29 Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee. [The Jewish rulers first attempt to induce …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Remorse and Suicide of Judas.
(in the Temple and Outside the Wall of Jerusalem. Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 3-10; ^E Acts I. 18, 19. ^a 3 Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned [Judas, having no reason to fear the enemies of Jesus, probably stood in their midst and witnessed the entire trial], repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. [There are two Greek words which are translated "repented," …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Crucifixion.
Subdivision A. On the Way to the Cross. (Within and Without Jerusalem. Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 31-34; ^B Mark XV. 20-23; ^C Luke XXIII. 26-33; ^D John XIX. 17. ^a 31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the ^b purple, ^a robe, and put on him his garments [This ended the mockery, which seems to have been begun in a state of levity, but which ended in gross indecency and violence. When we think of him who endured it all, we can not contemplate the scene without a shudder. Who …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Crucified, Dead, and Buried. '
It matters little as regards their guilt, whether, pressing the language of St. John, [6034] we are to understand that Pilate delivered Jesus to the Jews to be crucified, or, as we rather infer, to his own soldiers. This was the common practice, and it accords both with the Governor's former taunt to the Jews, [6035] and with the after-notice of the Synoptists. They, to whom He was delivered,' led Him away to be crucified:' and they who so led Him forth compelled' the Cyrenian Simon to bear the Cross. …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Jesus in the Tomb.
It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, according to our manner of reckoning,[1] when Jesus expired. A Jewish law[2] forbade a corpse suspended on the cross to be left beyond the evening of the day of the execution. It is not probable that in the executions performed by the Romans this rule was observed; but as the next day was the Sabbath, and a Sabbath of peculiar solemnity, the Jews expressed to the Roman authorities[3] their desire that this holy day should not be profaned by such a spectacle.[4] …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The vicariousness of Prayer
The Vicariousness of Prayer I The work of the ministry labours under one heavy disadvantage when we regard it as a profession and compare it with other professions. In these, experience brings facility, a sense of mastery in the subject, self-satisfaction, self-confidence; but in our subject the more we pursue it, the more we enter into it, so much the more are we cast down with the overwhelming sense, not only of our insufficiency, but of our unworthiness. Of course, in the technique of our work …
P. T. Forsyth—The Soul of Prayer

The Fifth Word from the Cross
The fourth word from the cross we looked upon both as the climax of the struggle which had gone on in the mind of the divine Sufferer during the three hours of silence and darkness which preceded its utterance and as the liberation of His mind from that struggle. This view seems to be confirmed by the terms in which St. John introduces the Fifth Word--"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished,[2] that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst." The phrase, "that the …
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

The Love of the Holy Spirit in Us.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."--Matt. xxvii. 37. The Scripture teaches not only that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and with Him Love, but also that He sheds abroad that Love in our hearts. This shedding abroad does not refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit's Person, for a person can not be shed abroad. He comes, takes possession, and dwells in us; but that which is shed abroad …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Lastly; they who Will Not, by the Arguments and Proofs Before Mentioned,
be convinced of the truth and certainty of the Christian religion, and be persuaded to make it the rule and guide of all their actions, would not be convinced, (so far as to influence their practice and reform their lives,) by any other evidence whatsoever; no, not though one should rise on purpose from the dead to endeavour to convince them. That the evidence which God has afforded us of the truth of our religion is abundantly sufficient. From what has been said, upon the foregoing heads, it is …
Samuel Clarke—A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God

Matthew 27:33 NIV
Matthew 27:33 NLT
Matthew 27:33 ESV
Matthew 27:33 NASB
Matthew 27:33 KJV

Matthew 27:33 Bible Apps
Matthew 27:33 Parallel
Matthew 27:33 Biblia Paralela
Matthew 27:33 Chinese Bible
Matthew 27:33 French Bible
Matthew 27:33 German Bible

Matthew 27:33 Commentaries

Bible Hub