171 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, 3 Every one of the house of Israel that slaughtereth an ox, or sheep, or goat, in the camp, or that slaughtereth it out of the camp, 4 and doth not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to Jehovah, before the tabernacle of Jehovah, blood shall be reckoned unto that man: he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they bring them to Jehovah, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace-offerings to Jehovah. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of Jehovah, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet odour to Jehovah. 7 And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto demons, after whom they go a whoring. This shall be an everlasting statute unto them for their generations. 8 And thou shalt say unto them, Every one of the house of Israel, and of the strangers who sojourn among them, that offereth up a burnt-offering or sacrifice, 9 and bringeth it not to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to offer it up to Jehovah—that man shall be cut off from his peoples.
10 And every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of blood,—I will set my face against the soul that hath eaten blood, and will cut him off from among his people; 11 for the soul of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. 12 Therefore have I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall the stranger who sojourneth among you eat blood. 13 And every one of the children of Israel, and of the strangers who sojourn among them, that catcheth in the hunt a beast or fowl that may be eaten, he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with earth; 14 for as to the life of all flesh, its blood is the life in it; and I have said unto the children of Israel, Of the blood of no manner of flesh shall ye eat, for the life of all flesh is its blood: whoever eateth it shall be cut off. 15 And every soul that eateth of a dead carcase, or of that which was torn, be it one home-born, or a stranger, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even: then he shall be clean. 16 And if he wash them not nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.
181 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God. 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their customs. 4 Mine ordinances shall ye do and my statutes shall ye observe to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God. 5 And ye shall observe my statutes and my judgments, by which the man that doeth them shall live: I am Jehovah.
6 No one shall approach to any that is his near relation, to uncover his nakedness: I am Jehovah. 7 The nakedness of thy father, and the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother: thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. 9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, born at home, or born abroad—their nakedness shalt thou not uncover. 10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter—their nakedness shalt thou not uncover; for theirs is thy nakedness. 11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father: she is thy sister: thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 12 The nakedness of thy father's sister shalt thou not uncover: she is thy father's near relation. 13 The nakedness of thy mother's sister shalt thou not uncover; for she is thy mother's near relation. 14 The nakedness of thy father's brother shalt thou not uncover; thou shalt not approach his wife: she is thine aunt. 15 The nakedness of thy daughter-in-law shalt thou not uncover: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 16 The nakedness of thy brother's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy brother's nakedness. 17 The nakedness of a woman and her daughter shalt thou not uncover; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, nor her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness: they are her near relations: it is wickedness. 18 And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness beside her, during her life.
19 And thou shalt not approach a woman in the separation of her uncleanness to uncover her nakedness. 20 And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to become unclean with her. 21 And thou shalt not give of thy seed to let them pass through [the fire] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah. 22 And thou shalt not lie with mankind as one lieth with a woman: it is an abomination. 23 And thou shalt lie with no beast to become unclean therewith; and a woman shall not stand before a beast to lie down with it: it is confusion. 24 Make not yourselves unclean in any of these things; for in all these have the nations which I am casting out before you made themselves unclean. 25 And the land hath become unclean; and I visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants. 26 But ye shall observe my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of all these abominations: the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you; 27 (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land hath been made unclean); 28 that the land vomit you not out, when ye make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whoever committeth any of these abominations, ... the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 And ye shall observe my charge, that ye commit not [any] of the abominable customs which were committed before you; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean therein: I am Jehovah your God.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor, having taken Jesus with [them] to the praetorium, gathered against him the whole band, 28 and having taken off his garment, put on him a scarlet cloak; 29 and having woven a crown out of thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and, bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30 And having spit upon him, they took the reed and beat [him] on his head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they took the cloak off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify.
32 And as they went forth they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to go [with them] that he might bear his cross.
33 And having come to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a skull, 34 they gave to him to drink vinegar mingled with gall; and having tasted [it], he would not drink. 35 And having crucified him, they parted his clothes amongst [themselves], casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept guard over him there. 37 And they set up over his head his accusation written: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. 38 Then are crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left. 39 But the passers-by reviled him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou art Son of God, descend from the cross. 41 [And] in like manner the chief priests also, mocking, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 He saved others, himself he cannot save. He is King of Israel: let him descend now from the cross, and we will believe on him. 43 He trusted upon God; let him save him now if he will [have] him. For he said, I am Son of God. 44 And the robbers also who had been crucified with him cast the same reproaches on him. 45 Now from [the] sixth hour there was darkness over the whole land until [the] ninth hour; 46 but about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 47 And some of those who stood there, when they heard [it], said, This [man] calls for Elias. 48 And immediately one of them running and getting a sponge, having filled [it] with vinegar and fixed [it] on a reed, gave him to drink. 49 But the rest said, Let be; let us see if Elias comes to save him.
50 And Jesus, having again cried with a loud voice, gave up the ghost.
(Read Matthew 27:26-30)
Crucifixion was a death used only among the Romans; it was very terrible and miserable. A cross was laid on the ground, to which the hands and feet were nailed, it was then lifted up and fixed upright, so that the weight of the body hung on the nails, till the sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the type of the brazen serpent raised on a pole. Christ underwent all the misery and shame here related, that he might purchase for us everlasting life, and joy, and glory.
(Read Matthew 27:31-34)
Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, they compelled one Simon to bear it. Make us ready, O Lord, to bear the cross thou hast appointed us, and daily to take it up with cheerfulness, following thee. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? And when we behold what manner of death he died, let us in that behold with what manner of love he loved us. As if death, so painful a death, were not enough, they added to its bitterness and terror in several ways.
(Read Matthew 27:35-44)
It was usual to put shame upon malefactors, by a writing to notify the crime for which they suffered. So they set up one over Christ's head. This they designed for his reproach, but God so overruled it, that even his accusation was to his honour. There were crucified with him at the same time, two robbers. He was, at his death, numbered among the transgressors, that we, at our death, might be numbered among the saints. The taunts and jeers he received are here recorded. The enemies of Christ labour to make others believe that of religion and of the people of God, which they themselves know to be false. The chief priests and scribes, and the elders, upbraid Jesus with being the King of Israel. Many people could like the King of Israel well enough, if he would but come down from the cross; if they could but have his kingdom without the tribulation through which they must enter into it. But if no cross, then no Christ, no crown. Those that would reign with him, must be willing to suffer with him. Thus our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy the justice of God, did it, by submitting to the punishment of the worst of men. And in every minute particular recorded about the sufferings of Christ, we find some prediction in the Prophets or the Psalms fulfilled.
(Read Matthew 27:45-50)
During the three hours which the darkness continued, Jesus was in agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and suffering his Father's displeasure against the sin of man, for which he was now making his soul an offering. Never were there three such hours since the day God created man upon the earth, never such a dark and awful scene; it was the turning point of that great affair, man's redemption and salvation. Jesus uttered a complaint from Psalm 22:1. Hereby he teaches of what use the word of God is to direct us in prayer, and recommends the use of Scripture expressions in prayer. The believer may have tasted some drops of bitterness, but he can only form a very feeble idea of the greatness of Christ's sufferings. Yet, hence he learns something of the Saviour's love to sinners; hence he gets deeper conviction of the vileness and evil of sin, and of what he owes to Christ, who delivers him from the wrath to come. His enemies wickedly ridiculed his complaint. Many of the reproaches cast upon the word of God and the people of God, arise, as here, from gross mistakes. Christ, just before he expired, spake in his full strength, to show that his life was not forced from him, but was freely delivered into his Father's hands. He had strength to bid defiance to the powers of death: and to show that by the eternal Spirit he offered himself, being the Priest as well as the Sacrifice, he cried with a loud voice. Then he yielded up the ghost. The Son of God upon the cross, did die by the violence of the pain he was put to. His soul was separated from his body, and so his body was left really and truly dead. It was certain that Christ did die, for it was needful that he should die. He had undertaken to make himself an offering for sin, and he did it when he willingly gave up his life.
