Matthew 27:33-37

And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots.

The watch by the cross

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.)

Christ crucified

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.)

Crucifixion

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.)

Gambling

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.)

Gambling unproductive of wealth

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 excitement of gambling

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.)

The watchers round the cross

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.)

The blind watchers at the cross

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.)