Evening and Morning
By Charles
Haddon Spurgeon
April 3
Morning
"They took Jesus, and led Him
away."—John 19:16.
He had been all night in
agony, He had spent the early morning at the hall of Caiaphas, He had been
hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back
again to Pilate; He had, therefore, but little strength left, and yet neither
refreshment nor rest were permitted Him. They were eager for His blood, and
therefore led Him out to die, loaded with the cross. O dolorous procession!
Well may Salem's daughters weep. My soul, do thou weep
also.
What learn we here as we
see our blessed Lord led forth? Do we not perceive that truth which was set
forth in shadow by the scapegoat? Did not the high-priest bring the
scapegoat, and put both his hands upon its head, confessing the sins of the
people, that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat, and cease from the
people? Then the goat was led away by a fit man into the wilderness, and it
carried away the sins of the people, so that if they were sought for they could
not be found. Now we see Jesus brought before the priests and rulers, who pronounce
Him guilty; God Himself imputes our sins to Him, "the Lord hath
laid on Him the iniquity of us all;" "He was made sin for us;"
and, as the substitute for our guilt, bearing our sin upon His shoulders,
represented by the cross; we see the great Scapegoat led away by the appointed
officers of justice. Beloved, can you feel assured that He carried your
sin? As you look at the cross upon His shoulders, does it represent your
sin? There is one way by which you can tell whether He carried your sin or not.
Have you laid your hand upon His head, confessed your sin, and trusted in Him?
Then your sin lies not on you; it has all been transferred by blessed
imputation to Christ, and He bears it on His shoulder as a load heavier than
the cross.
Let not the picture vanish
till you have rejoiced in your own deliverance, and adored the loving Redeemer
upon whom your iniquities were laid.
Evening
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us
all."—Isaiah 53:6.
Were a
confession of sin common to all the elect people of God. They have all
fallen, and therefore, in common chorus, they all say, from the first who
entered heaven to the last who shall enter there, "All we like sheep have
gone astray." The confession, while thus unanimous, is also special
and particular: "We have turned every one to his own way." There is a
peculiar sinfulness about every one of the individuals; all are sinful, but
each one with some special aggravation not found in his fellow. It is the mark
of genuine repentance that while it naturally associates itself with other penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness.
"We have turned every one to his own way," is a confession that each
man had sinned against light peculiar to himself, or
sinned with an aggravation which he could not perceive in others. This
confession is unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its force,
nor a syllable by way of excuse. The confession is a giving up of all pleas
of self-righteousness. It is the declaration of men who are consciously
guilty—guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse: they stand with
their weapons of rebellion broken in pieces, and cry, "All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Yet we hear no
dolorous wailings attending this confession of sin;
for the next sentence makes it almost a song. "The Lord hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all." It is the most grievous sentence of the three,
but it overflows with comfort. Strange is it that where misery was concentrated
mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax weary souls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See how
the lowliest penitence gives place to assured confidence through simply gazing
at Christ on the cross!