The Spectators of the Cross — Peter Brandon

I trust that this may be a lovely Easter Sunday, and I want to speak tonight on the spectators of the cross, and I do trust that this might be a blessing to you all. Another thing that pleases me, it's lovely to see young and old all together.

You know that's a thrilling thing in these days. Now we're going to read from Matthew 27, and we'll start reading from verse 35. He had 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.

The Mockery and Darkness Surrounding the Crucifixion

And they that pass by reviled him, wagging their heads and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him and the scribes and elders said, 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. He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him. For he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same in his teeth.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani. That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

And some of them that stood there when they heard that said, This man calleth for Elijah. And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink.

And the rest said, let be, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, he healed it of the ghost. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.

Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women were there beholding afar off which followed Jesus from Galilee.

Ministering unto him. Now the Lord will bless that word to us. Someone said the other day, very abruptly, and it was a question I believe that needs to be answered, Why do they make so much fuss of the cross?

My son gave his life for the country and there's very little said about him. Why so much about the cross? Another person said, How can the cross that's 2000 years old have any relevance in the 20th century?

The Historical Reality and Present Relevance of the Cross

My dear friends I do want to say this, If Jesus Christ was an ordinary man, then the cross has no significance. Furthermore, If Jesus Christ be dead, the cross has no relevance. As Christians we would have to be honest and fold up the book, put it back in the library, and we would have to say to our own deceived souls, we must find another philosopher.

But you see dear friends, the Bible makes it quite clear that he did die. He was buried. But he was raised again from the dead. And there is real evidence in the historicity of the resurrection. And so you can see that the one who died is now risen.

In fact we believe that very soon he is going to break his silence and come. And that's how relevant the cross is. But there is one thing that I must say that is absolutely final. When Jesus Christ was hanging on that accursed tree, from the 6th to the 9th hour the greatest event in history took place.

For the first time in the whole world, God brought sin together. And we can't measure that. Then in a very meticulous way he measured its judgment. And instead of bringing that judgment upon the sinning world, he brought that judgment upon his son.

And that is why he cried, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He was taking the place of the sinful man and the sinful woman. And when he said finished, that work was complete in such a wonderful way that God now can come to us and give us a righteous and just forgiveness.

So that when we are forgiven we can have complete peace. Now that's the most important thing that I want you to remember. But then someone will say, and rightly so, How is that cross going to come to me tonight?

The Preaching of the Cross as God's Message

You're standing on the platform, that is correct. I'm sitting in the pew, that too is correct. How is the cross going to come to me tonight? God's medium of communication is not vision, it's not dream, but it's through the preaching of the cross.

And that's how God speaks to the world, through the preaching of the cross. If you had heard Peter preaching, the centre of his message would be the cross. If you went back to the time of the Reformation and you heard dear old Martin Luther preaching, right at the pith of his message, the cross.

If you were alive in the 18th century and you heard Wesley and Whitefield right at the centre of their preaching, the cross. And here tonight in Sydney, in this simple gospel hall, the cross is going to be preached.

As far as we know, when the Lord Jesus was on the cross, in order to accomplish the great work of the atonement, only two people were saved. One was a penitent malefactor, and the other was the centurion.

But when Peter preached the cross on the day of Pentecost, 3 ,000 were saved. And through the preaching of the cross, millions have been swept into the kingdom of God. And I feel sure tonight, as I uplift the cross, some here will be drawn to him for the first time.

Now this is a very interesting thing, but the same people that surrounded the actual cross are the same people that sit and hear the cross preached. And therefore I'm going to speak on those spectators, and I'm quite sure of this, that there will be the same spectators sitting in the seat, listening to the gospel tonight.

The Indifference of Those Who Watched the Cross

There were those, dear friends, that sat down and watched him indifferently. Couldn't care less. There were those that passed by revilingly. They were filled with anger. There were those who watched the far-off nervously.

Nervous less. They wanted to come near, but they were afraid. And then there was the mother that stood by the cross, adoringly, looking at her son. And they will be my simple remarks tonight. The Lord Jesus was scourged.

I wish we could have seen that scourging. If I had a scourge tonight, a Roman scourge, and I brought the scourge across this platform, you would see it splintering in all directions. The Lord Jesus was tied to a doorpost.

By one side of him there would be a bowl of salt, on the other side a bowl of vinegar. Before him there would be a thick set of centurions. And then there would be 39 Syrian Roman soldiers that were picked out because of their might and main to heap the heaviest blow on the victim that was possible.

Man will step forward, and with all his might he would bring it on the victim's back. And the blow would move the body. And the centurion would move the body flat back into the bow. The blow. After the wound that was deep and rugged, he would pour salt and vinegar in.

The Lord Jesus received 39 scourge marks. It was a living miracle he was alive after the scourging. After the scourging, the Roman soldiers would put down their whips and then they would go through a session called the buffeting.

One by one would step forward, and it hurts me to say this, and with a clenched right he would smash it into the face of the victim until his face was marred more than any man's. Beyond recognition. Then they would plunge a cross of wood on the saviour's back.

And they would cause him to march down the little valley called Hinnom. And then he would march up to the green hill. And then you would see something that was mingled with vulgarity. Four of these soldiers would throw him to the ground.

And then with mighty hammers they would smash spikes into his hands and feet. And as they were crucifying him, he quietly said in holy dignity, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. And then they sat down with a few others and they stripped the garment of course from his back and they tore it to pieces and with a dice they were gambling four parts of his garment.

And these men were blinded by indifference. That lovely call of passion, the greatest love prayer that ever fell from human lips was like water on a duck's back as far as they were concerned. All they were concerned with was a souvenir.

All they were concerned with was the gambler's dice. Their eyes were glued to the cement of this world. If those men had lifted their eyes from the dice and from the garment and given their eyes five seconds of vision, there would have been a transformation.

They would have seen the glory and the dignity of the one that was dying. They probably would have said with the old penitent maleficent, Dost thou not see a God? But you see they were so blinded by indifference, so deceived by the beggarly elements of this world that they had no vision whatever, the blindness of indifference, but the brutality of it.

He was breathing upon them the love of God. He was pouring upon them the waters of compassion. He was opening his heart and showing them the very love of God. But they were brutal, couldn't care less.

And can I use the language of a brilliant poet that said something that was ungrammatical? That was the unkindest cut of all. You say, how can you prove that? There was a church in Laodicea that used to gather around the Lord's supper and they used to taste the bread and the wine with an indifferent heart.

Couldn't care less. They were hooked, mesmerised upon the material things of this earth. They were rich and increased with goods in need of nothing. And the Lord looked down and he said this, that indifference makes me sick.

And the almighty God uses vulgarity. And this is what he says, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Beloved friends, we are now in the process of lifting up the greatest love story in the world. God is breathing upon you his eternal love.

What's your reaction? Are you sitting there indifferent? Test your temperature. For that's the sin that wounds the very heart of God. Downright apathy and indifference. There was another group that stirred on the people to crucify the Lord Jesus.

Religious Hostility and Rejection of Christ

They didn't know it of course. All they had was religion on their brow. But dare I say it, hell in their hearts. They were the ones that said to the people, cry out crucify him, crucify him, his blood be upon us and our children.

They were wicked men, clothed in white, raped in religion. They had the form of religion, but their hearts were far from God. They had seen the scourging, they had seen the buffeting, they had even seen the crucifying from a distance.

And now they were moving toward the cross itself. Their hands were in their own cloaks. Their hearts were filled with bitterness. But they were getting nearer to the cross. And when they came face to face with the cross, they heard the Master saying, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.

Instead of breaking them and melting them, instead of these men falling on their knees saying, Oh God, we have committed an abomination, and we will believe you. Friends, God is engineering the circumstances of the world.

This night is infinitely holy, as far as the economy of God is concerned. And may I say something to you from my heart? He was the one that put the desire in your heart to come. I know you were invited, but He put the desire in your heart to come.

He put you in that seat, for one reason, that you might pass through, pass by the preach cross. And friends, I know this is alarming, but it's true. None of us can be the same. The moment we stand before that preach cross, we have to make a decision.

We do not make a decision by hell's fire. We do not make a decision before Mount Sinai, where He gave the Ten Commandments. We make the decision before the cross, where He breathes out this cry, Father, forgive them.

These men looked, and their hearts were filled with bitterness. Little did they realize they had chosen their destiny. They moved down a road called the Broad Road. And oh, it hurts me when I say this.

Those men are in hell tonight. People say to me, it's very easy to go to hell. Don't you believe them? The hardest thing in the world to go to hell. You have to come face to face with the preach cross.

You have to come heart to heart with the Savior, that longs to forgive you, and forgive the drowner. You have to wag your head and say, I don't believe it. Or, sit there in cold indifference. I know you think this is dramatic, but it's perfectly true.

Right now, God's writing a book. And He's writing down this sermon that I'm now preaching. And He's writing down this opportunity that He's given you, so that you might fall in repentance. But oh, dear friends, if you move out of the square of this building as you came in, you have rejected Him.

May God save you from doing that tonight. Then there was another company, and they were refined people. People that I loved. The women that heard the Lord Jesus. Probably there were some that heard the Sermon on the Mount.

Fearful Disciples Who Followed from a Distance

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Probably there were some among them who had seen the mighty miracles. That moment when He touched the leper, and he was instantaneously healed.

Probably there were some there that had seen the resurrection of Lazarus when He came out of that sepulcher, all bound with grey clothes. And they had seen the mighty miracle. They loved Him. They loved Him deeply.

But they were afraid. There was the cross in the distance. There was the suffering Saviour. Coming from His lips and heart, He was expressing the very love of God. But between the cross and them were the Jewish soldiers, the scribes and the Pharisees.

And they were filled with fear. They wanted to come near. They felt the mighty induction of the love of God. They felt its drawing power. But there was a barrier. The soldiers, the scribes and the Pharisees.

And they were afraid to come. There are some like that tonight. As the cross is being lifted up, as we see the Saviour there by faith dying for our sins, that we might be forgiven. All of us feel the induction of that love.

I can tell by your faces. Why tonight there are tears and rightness. But some of you are saying something like this. I would like to come and associate myself with the Lord Jesus. But I'm scared. You see, it's my husband.

If I come, it could break up my marriage. Or it's my boss. If I come and tell him I've become a Christian, he might render me unemployed. Or it's the friends that I've worked with. If I told them that I was saved, I would become the object of their laughter.

Perhaps there's a husband here. And you're seeing this tonight. I would like to come. But what would my wife think? And there's a barrier. My mother would have come to Christ years before the day she did.

But she was afraid of my dear father. She thought it would break the marriage. But that was the biggest lie of the devil. My dear friends, I have no doubt in saying this. If those ladies would have come and associated themselves with the people around the cross, the Lord would have defended them.

But he would never defend himself. He was going to be an offering. And therefore they were defeated. They followed afar off. I would give the world to stand with him. I'm afraid. Are you there? Something holding you back.

Mary's Adoration at the Cross

But then we pass from them and we turn to the mother of Jesus. One of the greatest and probably most compassionate statements in John's gospel is this. They are stood by the cross of Jesus. His mother.

His mother. Don't raise your hand. Answer this in the shrine of your soul. How many mothers are here tonight? And you know how you feel when your children are suffering. As that mother saw him being scourged, she felt it all.

As she saw the soldiers buffeting his face, they were doing it to her. She was never a perfect woman. She certainly wasn't divine. She was an outstanding woman. But she was just human. And when she saw the soldiers crucifying his hands and feet.

And as she drew herself nearer to the cross and heard his groans. She was groaning. And there would be a paradox of feeling. One moment there would be an anger. And she would say something like this. He healed them and they've crucified his hands.

Spirits of mercy and they've pierced his feet. He's the words of love and justice. And they've bruised his lips. That face shown once with the sun. Now it's mine. What wicked people. And then she would feel all the pains that he was enduring.

As he fought for breath. She would fight for breath. And she would be heartbroken. And then there came from the cross this noble statement. Woman. Madam. It means a lady of a high degree. Behold thy son.

Mother don't break your heart. Look. And look. And look until you understand. Can we do that tonight? May I ask you to do something that's quite unique? Would you forget everyone else in the building?

Would you come alone at the cross? And pray that prayer that we have sung together. Give me a sight O Saviour. Of thy wondrous love to me. That's beholding. And as she looked she would hear something like this.

Thou shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. She would hear something like this. His name shall be called wonderful. Counselor. The mighty God. The everlasting Father.

The Prince of Peace. And then she would hear. His name shall be called Emmanuel. And she would see through the gloom. And she would see the holy dignity of her son. And may I say now with Bishop Lightfoot.

It was not God who died. But he who died. Lord of reverence. As we gaze upon the son of God. Dying. And then my dear friends we must now leave the mother. And we must ask some questions. Lord Jesus. Forgive our crudeness and rudeness.

But on the cross there is darkness. And around the cross there is darkness. Why this darkness? Lord Jesus why this voice? My God my God why has power forsaken me? And it will come to us like a revelation.

Christ died for our sins. Forgive the shock. It will hit you like this. And you are saved. My sins Lord. My sins put you on the cross. My lying. My lust. My bad temper. My irritation. My gossiping tongue put thee on the cross.

My awful evil nature where it all comes from. Does it mean that you are being condemned for that? Yes. Oh my God I never knew that sin was so serious. And you're broken. You see my dear friends the cross levels us all.

You can't come to the cross and say I'm religious. You can't come to the cross and say I'm good. You can't come to the cross and say I'm intellectual. We're all at it. My sin caused that agonizing death.

And then I look through those misty eyes and I say something like this. Lord again forgive my crudeness. But are you saying to me through the reality of the cross that you love me? You know all about my sins and you're bearing them.

But you infinitely love me. And that's why you're dying. You're not loving me through an oration. You're not loving me by words. But you're loving me in the reality of the cross. And when that comes to you you will say he loved me and gave himself.

A young man there in London was only 12 years of age when he received his first class honour from the London School for Boys. The second year he won it again in that brilliant public school. But he would never invite his mum.

Never. And for four years running in his particular form he got that first class honour. And when he was 16 his mother challenged him and said you never invite me to that special prize giving to you. He said no mother.

Why? She knew why. Mother he said I didn't want to say this but your body is terribly mutilated. And he said I'm ashamed to introduce you to some of my friends. And then she quietly said this to him. John when you were three you were very rebellious.

And there was an old fire for he had lost his mother, lost his father. And I found you burning almost to death on that fire. And I covered you with my dress. And saved your life. And then she did a thing that she had never done before.

She pulled down the neck of her dress. And she was all scarred. She lifted up her long dress and her arms were all scarred. And with tears she went out of the room and this is what he said. When I saw my mother's scarred body I said my disobedience.

When I saw her scars I said her love. And do you know what he did? He went up for the first time and hugged her. And he said this. Mum you're the most beautiful person in the world. When you see Jesus Christ hanging on the cross for your sin.

You'll say my sin and you'll turn from it. When you see the marks in his hands. You'll say his love and there will be surrender. Would you mind dear now if I gave you my testimony. My father took me to a meeting like this.

Personal Testimony and the Call to Salvation

And I heard old Philip Mills preaching the cross. And as I sat in that meeting where there were hundreds of people. And as that man preached the cross. I saw as a lad two things I shall never forget it.

The wickedness of my sins and as a boy. They were not so deep as in adulthood. But I saw them to cause his death. And I saw the reality of God's love. And turning to my father I pleaded with him to take me to see the preacher.

He then was far from being a Christian and he grabbed me by the hand. And dragged me all the way home. And in a little box room with just one bed and a little sideboard. I knelt down over sixty years ago.

And I pleaded with the Lord to save me. And forgive me being moved. In that little room I surrendered to the Lord and I was gloriously saved. Would you mind if I point it. Is there someone there that's been broken.

There. There. There. Then tonight come to the Lord Jesus as a poor sinner. And receive that forgiveness that comes through him. And you can go out tonight cleansed through the blood of Christ.