In the sermon 'Boast in the Cross of Christ', Scott Brown emphasizes the importance of boasting in the cross of Jesus Christ as the central element of the Christian faith. He begins by acknowledging the unique challenge of preaching to both a live audience and those joining via live stream during the lockdown. Brown then delves into John 19:17-30, highlighting the crucifixion and its significance as the pivotal moment in history. He draws parallels between Old Testament imagery and the crucifixion, illustrating how Jesus fulfilled prophecies by being led outside the camp, akin to the sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament. Brown explains the Apostle Paul's message in Galatians 6:14, urging believers to boast solely in the cross, which offers true satisfaction and identity, contrasting it with the empty boasting in worldly achievements. The sermon outlines seven commands to boast in various aspects of the crucifixion: Christ's ostracism, the thieves on the cross, His title 'King of the Jews', His garments, His family and friends, His thirst, and His finished work. Each of these elements underscores the fulfillment of God's promises and the ultimate redemption achieved through Christ's sacrifice. Brown concludes with a call to find joy, confidence, and identity in the accomplishments of the cross, encouraging believers to make it their sole boast and source of spiritual invigoration.

Well, I'm grateful that we are at this place in the gospel of John. We've already read the sermon text. As we enter into the text, I'm very well aware that I'm preaching to many people who are not in this room. I am preaching to those who are gathered. I'm looking at them and I'm grateful for that because of this lockdown.

It is a downgrade without question. But I want you to understand the way that I think about this time of preaching when we are live streaming, which is every Sunday. And that is that I'm preaching to those gathered in front of me and I want to look at them. I want to see the looks on their faces. But I'm also always thinking of, and I'm very well aware of the people who are not here, because every Sunday there are many who are on the live stream.

Some are sick, and some are on vacation, they might be listening in. By the way, many of you listen when you're on vacation and it's so encouraging to see that. But each week I'm preaching to women who are nursing their babies in the nursing mother's room and I'm preaching to the person who's doing security in the hallway, not in this room with us. Many of you this year have had babies. And what a joy that's been.

And I have been aware when I've been preaching that I'm preaching to you and you're holding your newborn baby. It's such a sweet thing for me to consider. And I'm preaching to you even though you're not here. And of course the lockdown has caused most of us not to be here. And it's heartbreaking on the one hand.

Our Baptist confession says that there are matters of providence that do pause in the meetings of the people. And today, I'm very glad that we're broadcasting. Every Sunday, I preach to maybe a mother or a father at home with a sick child. Today, one of our sisters is and has been for many weeks with her dear mother-in-law who's suffering from cancer. There are just there are just many people that are not here, but I want you to understand that I'm aware of those who are not here every Sunday.

I'm not just preaching to a camera. I'm really not. I don't think of it that way. I'm grateful that we're able to preach to a camera in the days that we live in now. Now, as we turn to John chapter 19, verses 17 to 30, These verses obviously are a record of the crucifixion, John's unique record.

So in the next few weeks we're going to be hovering over the doctrine of the cross. Each Sunday we'll be giving a deeper and deeper explanation of this moment, this pivotal moment in all of history. It's an explanation of Galatians 6 verse 14 where the Apostle Paul said, God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. In many ways all of what we'll be doing for the next few weeks will be expositions of that verse, but we see it in real time here in our studies in the gospel of John. What is Paul doing in Galatians 6 14?

Paul is pointing to the most invigorating, the most confidence-inducing, the most happiness-producing force in the world. It is to boast. Yes, Paul is a boaster. He's boasting in the cross of Jesus Christ. And why don't we have the confidence and often the happiness that God has intended for us?

Well, it's because we glory in the wrong things. We're boasting in the wrong things. We set our mind on the wrong things, finding our satisfaction in the wrong things. We boast in, we glory in the things that don't really satisfy, so we're not really very satisfied. And here we find at the cross of Jesus Christ the most satisfying contemplation that we can have.

Now when the Apostle Paul is addressing the Church in Galatia, When we get to chapter 6 verse 14, Paul is specifically addressing the Judaizers. The Judaizers wanted to give Christians an identifier so that they would be able to have a reason to congratulate themselves, a way to identify themselves. In some ways, they sort of had a brand. It was a way that they thought of themselves, a way that they boasted about themselves. It was their satisfaction in life, and it was really all about their accomplishments in the law.

They wanted a rallying point, but the Apostle Paul is proposing a different rallying point, and that rallying point is the cross of Jesus Christ. And so he says, God forbid, in other words, may it never happen to me, may it never happen to me that there's anything else that I boast in rather than the cross of Jesus Christ. And by the way, this is a good prayer for us at Hope Baptist Church. God forbid, make that part of your prayers, God forbid that we ought to boast about anything but the cross. May that be the rallying point.

May that be our identity. May that be the most prominent, well in modern terms, brand of a church that they boast and they ought to boast in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And may it not be that we appreciate other things more than the cross of Jesus Christ. I heard someone say this last week that that those who don't speak much of the cross of Christ don't think much of Christ And they get they get wrapped up in all kinds of other issues. Now the meaning for the word boast means to glory, trust in, rejoice in, revel in, live for.

I'm quoting John Stott in that phrase What you boast about is what you like What you are attracted to it's your favorite thing What you boast about well, you already know this it gives you satisfaction. It makes you feel good about yourself It puffs you up and it's what you like to talk about because it doesn't make you feel so good. It's something that you identify with that makes you who you are because you know most of us have been all of our lives involved in kind of creating a designer life, an identity, something that makes us important. And Paul though is inspiring the church in Galatia to be known for and really to be inspired by and to boast about something completely different than their own sort of designer life, to say it that way. And Paul is saying that this boasting is the power of the cross, that the cross is the most invigorating object of one's affections.

And so in the most urgent terms, the Apostle Paul is saying, may it not happen to me, God forbid. And I'm saying to us and to myself, God forbid, may it never happen to me and may it never happen to us, that we would have a life, have emotions, have anything centered around anything but the cross of Jesus Christ. And of course we've spoken of this before, we really are at the center point of the Bible here in John chapter 19 in the cross. The purpose of history is collected up here, the center of really of everything that God has ordained for sinners is here. And so our church now is at the beginning of a journey, a lingering journey through the many faceted blessings of the accomplishments of Christ on the cross.

So today, Lord willing, I'm starting what will prove to be a multi-focus, a multi-Sunday focus on the glories and the benefits and the happinesses of Jesus Christ and His cross which He secured for us. So we're going to take kind of a lengthy and deep plunge. Now this exposition of John 19 verse 17 through 30 is the beginning of this. Now the context of our verses here today is that the disciples have departed from the upper room less than 16 hours before this moment. Judas has betrayed the Lord Jesus.

Jesus has been arrested. He's endured six trials, three religious trials, and three civil trials. He's now being led to the cross. He is now on the cross and it is now the minutes leading up to three o'clock or maybe three o'clock in the afternoon itself. And when we arrive by the time we get to verse 30, when we read those final words, it is finished.

Jesus has been on the cross for six hours. So that's the time frame that we're dealing with in this text. Now, the verses before us that John records mostly cover the first three hours of Jesus on the cross. When we get to the phrases, I thirst and it is finished, we've come to the final three of the six hours on the cross. John doesn't record all the details and I've provided for you in an email today in an outline the entire testimony harmonized with John's text quoted and the others identified as well.

I really encourage you to read that this afternoon. It'll give you a broader sense of what the other gospel writers have reported about this moment. But John has a particular objective in mind, and that's why he writes about different things for a different purpose than the other gospel writers. And what we have here is the essence of the Christian life explained. And it is this, boasting.

This is the heart of the Christian life, is to have one boast. And the outline that you may have before you is framed in the form of commands to boast, as you can see. The outline issues directives or commands to the church at Hope Baptist. And So I've decided to frame this outline to work through the text in the following way. First of all, that we ought to boast in his ostracism, boast in the thieves, that's verse 18, boast in his title, verses 19 through 22, boast in his garments, verses 23 to 24, boast in his family and friends, verses 25 to 27, boast in his thirst, verses 28 to 29, boast in his finished work, Verse 30.

This is all in keeping with the Apostle Paul's exhortation. God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. So let's begin with the first boast that we encounter in our text. It's in verse 17. And he bearing his cross went out to a place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Galgotha, the place of the skull.

This is a place where skulls of the dead were buried. And these were the ceremonially unclean geographical areas. Commentators say that it was a hill rounded off in the shape of a skull. This is most likely the place where Isaac was was offered by Abraham on Mount Moriah. Abraham's son Isaac was led up Mount Moriah in the same way that the Lord Jesus Christ was led up the place of the skull.

He was led outside the camp. He was tied to sticks and was prepared for sacrifice. This is figurative. This moment here in Jesus' life is figurative of images in the Old Testament. It's very clear that what is happening with Jesus is he is being led outside the camp.

That's terminology from the law, the law of God in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy and it's reflective of the reality that Jesus Christ was led outside the camp and he was made sin for us as an offering for sin. And you can see the pictures of this in Leviticus chapter 4 and Leviticus 16 and in other places you can see it in Deuteronomy and the whole force of the instruction in the Old Testament law is that there must be a substitute must be a substitute sacrifice for sin. And in Leviticus chapter 16 verse 27 we see this illustrated. The Old Testament contains illustrations of things to come. They are pictures.

They look at it as an illustration manual for the gospel. So in Leviticus 16 27 we read about the day of atonement and in verse 27 we read the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement to the holy place, shall be carried outside the camp, and they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their awful. That's refuse, excrement. And you have this picture of uncleanness and this substitute sacrifice for uncleanness, even down to the level of the excrement of the animal. It's very remarkable.

And the dung is burned outside the camp. And that's why in Hebrews 13-12 we read these words, therefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered outside the gate and there the writer of Hebrews is picking up the Old Testament testimony about the sacrifice being led outside the camper or outside the gate. And so these scenes in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, they figuratively describe the cross and The apostle Paul speaks of it with clarity in 2 Corinthians 521. He made him who knew no sin to be made sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God. That's what is happening here outside the camp on the place of the skull in Golgotha.

The innocent are sacrificed for the guilty, the just for the unjust, using the words of the Apostle Paul, the pure for the impure. And that's why we read in Isaiah chapter 53-6 that laid on him was the iniquity of us all. And So he experienced on the cross the suffering that we deserved. That's the heart of the matter. Let me read you the way that Martin Luther explains it in his way.

Take this to heart and doubt it not that you are the one who killed Christ. Your sins certainly did, and when you see the nails driven through His hands, be sure that you are pounding, and when the thorns pierce his brow know that they are your evil thoughts consider that if one thorn pierced christ you deserve 100 000 I think Martin Luther explains that well. Jesus was led outside the camp to the place of the skull, to the place of uncleanness, with all of the uncleanness of the world upon his shoulders. And what should we do with this? We should first recognize that it is Jesus Christ who suffered for the things that we ought to suffer for.

We deserve to be led outside the camp away from every pleasure of humanity and into the place of impurity and death and refuse. We deserve that. But Jesus Christ willingly was led there for our sake. And so the command for our church is boast in his ostracism. Boast in it.

He was ostracized and taken outside the camp so that you would be brought into his house and be adopted there. The cross is not a sad place for the Christian. It was not even sad for Jesus except for in his momentary sufferings because for the joy set before him he endured the cross. He did it for the joy and he did it for your joy, that you would boast, so that when you get up in the morning, you have something to boast about, you have something to identify with, that's who you are. The second command, boasts in the thieves.

Verse 18, where they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side and Jesus in the center. Now the whole idea here is that he was numbered with the transgressors. The other gospel writers give more detail. I hope you can look into it. It's remarkable what happens with the thieves on the cross.

This scene shows who the companions of Jesus really are. There were two criminals, one on each side. He was numbered among the criminals. This quotation is from Isaiah 53 written 1, 000 years before the cross of Christ. He was numbered among the transgressors quote-unquote from Isaiah.

And so again we see this irony this great irony throughout this entire narrative we see the Roman government choosing two thieves unwittingly fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah Over and over again the hands of wicked men are fulfilling the sovereign providential works of God. It's so amazing. Every step of the crucifixion shows this very same power. The Jews, the religious leaders, the civil leaders, the Romans, and the people are pawns. They are puppets on God's stage.

And you need to always understand that when a government makes a move or when some institution makes a move or some person makes a move. They are puppets on God's stage for his glory. And he's designed every single one of them for his glory. You can glorify God in everything. Now Jesus' companions were unruly, disobedient, They were selfish thieves, and the Romans thought they were worthy of death.

That was their law. God appointed those authorities to execute them. Now, in Jewish law, you weren't executed for being a thief, but in Roman law, you were by God's providence. Jesus identifies with criminals. It makes sense though, doesn't it?

Because Jesus always identified with criminals and He always identified with the sick. That's who he was with those people all the time proclaiming the words of life and Matthew Henry says that Christ was brought out to our doors, the doors of common lawbreakers. The scene of the two thieves on the cross in the crucifixion, it really is connected with the entire gospel message. It's easy to see that. And it is that only the sick need a physician.

God draws the refuse of this world, the dregs of the earth, The foolish, the proud, the unwise, the people who have made so many enormous life-defining mistakes. And he brings them into his family and he begins to heal them. By grace you were saved by faith, not by the works of the law. That's how God saves. And He saves the worst people you will never find on this earth, a person that's too bad to be saved.

Never. It's easy for us to think that there's just no hope for that person. That is not true. And I'm going to give you four lessons about the thieves, real quick. First lesson, it's not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick.

Don't be afraid of the sick, spiritually. Number two, second lesson, God can save at the last moment. Praise God for that. God is patient. He often delays judgment to make his glory known, to save a very bad person.

He waits to save for his own glory. Third lesson, The thieves could not earn their salvation. There was no opportunity. There was no opportunity for sanctification. The thief who was saved was saved by faith, not by the works of the law.

He didn't have to work it out. God did it for him. The fourth lesson. The cross shows that there are two kinds of people in it. The world is always divided into two parts.

Those who love him and those who don't, even at the last minute in their life. So boast. Boast in the thieves. Boast in the cross. We are the criminals who should have received that execution, and Jesus takes our place with the criminals so that we would be free.

He was wounded for our transgressions and we have much to boast about, much to thank God about when you wake up in the morning. Don't forget to give thanks for what Jesus Christ has done for you on the cross. The third command boasts in his title, verses 19 through 22. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Then many of the Jews read this title for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

So what do we learn from the about the glory of Jesus Christ through his title? Let's look at some of the details first. Here's some of the facts of the story before we make some conclusions. First, the Romans allowed the accusation to be either attached to the body or somewhere nearby to identify the crime. That's what was happening here.

Second, the title did not bear witness to a real crime. What Pilot wrote wasn't a crime. And it's very interesting. It was not a disgraceful title. It was not a dishonorable title in his own mind, nor to the minds of those who read it.

The third is that Pilate refused to publish the Jews' accusation. My experience with most commentators is that they say that Pilate was wanting to say again, I find no fault in him. And This is repeated six times during the narratives before this. And it's likely that Pilate wants to humiliate the Jews who were always humiliating him and always a thorn in the flesh to him. And then next, the title was declared in three languages, bearing witness to all men, the Hebrews, the Greeks, and the Latins, who spoke those languages.

And I think this speaks about the universal call of the gospel to be called out throughout the entire world, that the gospel should be in every language so that all could understand. The title in the language was written, declared to everyone who might be hearing. And this is how God desires to declare his glory in the languages of the world. And those of you who are in Turkey who are listening today on a different time zone, praise God that you're there. We're so grateful for you.

Psalm 22, verse 22, one of the seminal critical prophetic texts referring to this very situation of the title, reads like this, I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly, I will praise you." And so the irony again is so striking. God puts His own words under Pilate's pen, and He, like all civil leaders, in His day and on every day they are all pawns in the hands of God. They can do nothing unless it has been granted from above. Jesus already said that. You can't do anything unless I allow it.

He said that to Pilate and that is being demonstrated right now. Out of the mouth of the wicked comes the truth from Pilate, the unbeliever, and yet he's acknowledging the significance of Jesus' work. In one way, Jesus is being coronated as king by Pilate. Well, I got that idea from a commentator that I read. Jesus has already been declared king, and now a pagan ruler is declaring him king.

In Matthew chapter 2 verse 2 the Magi ask where is he who has been born king of the Jews? In John 12-13 Jesus enters into Jerusalem to face his trials and crucifixion. And the people take out branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him and they're crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel." So Jesus is King. He has already been declared to be King. And now Pilate declares him to be king.

And again, the truth of God comes out of the mouth of wicked men unwittingly spoken. Calvin makes the point that an instrument of Satan, speaking of Pilate, was nevertheless by secret guidance appointed to be a herald of the gospel that he might publish in short summary of it in three languages. Now the Jews cannot hide their hatred of Jesus or Pilate, So they make a panicked appeal. They do not like this title and the Jews wanted to control the narrative. You've seen that before.

They want to cast blame on the Jews and Pilate would not allow it as God would not allow it. It's interesting, you know, when modern organizations enter into times of crisis, they want to control the narrative. In today's terms, get in front of the narrative. That's what modern communicators do in a mass communications age, but that's not new. The Jews are trying to get in front of the narrative here.

They're wanting to control the narrative. That's why we read in verse 21. Therefore, the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the king of the Jews, but write, he said I am the king of the Jews. They're panicking. And God overrules them through Pilate, of all people.

Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. Those are some of the most remarkable and memorable words in the Bible. Let them ring in your ear the next time you're afraid of a civil ruler. God is in control. One day all will understand that there is no fault in him.

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. In the meantime, God has his players in his narrative, which he's controlling. Praise God for that. I just want you to rest in the glory of the knowledge that God is controlling the narrative of your life. And you know, I know that people, they wake up to the things of the Lord and they are very sorry about what they've done and it's natural and it's right for us to repent and to see the sorrows of our past life.

But the truth is, is God has been in control of the narrative of your life. And you woke up in due time, and He'll take you from there. He's faithful. Well, Jesus is King. He is the King of Kings and he is the Lord of Lords.

So here's the command, boast in his title. Boast in who he really is. He's the King. Jesus is King. The King is not the King, Jesus is King.

I'm so glad for that. The fourth command, boast in his garments or boast of his garments either way you want to say it. Verses 23 to 24. Then the soldiers, verse 23, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to each soldier apart. You see the picture.

And also they took the tunic. Now, the tunic was without seam. That was a problem. Woven from the top in one piece. Couldn't be divided.

Verse 24, they said therefore among themselves, let us not tear it but cast lots for it whose it shall be. Great idea! Awesome! Conflict resolved. Why did they say that?

Finish the sentence. That the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, they divided my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots. Therefore the soldiers did these things. Well, the first thing you notice here, I think that just sticks out as this is this is a fulfillment of prophecy and it's right out of Psalm 22 which we read earlier they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots now this is happening these soldiers are doing this not because they're so smart because they've arrived at such a, you know, such a brilliant idea for how to divide this one garment that could not be torn. This is happening to proclaim the faithfulness of God who keeps every single word he has ever spoken.

Not one word of scripture will ever fall to the ground, will ever be contradicted by history or science, and all will be fulfilled, all promises will be kept. Well, what promises has God made? To you, his people. He's keeping them all and will fulfill them all. Scripture is pure, It's perfect, it's authoritative, it's sufficient.

You can always rest your whole life on one word of Scripture. Do you have confidence in God's word to guide you, to be the thing, to lead you through the conflicts of this world, the troubles with people, the calamities of business, and conflicts even with authorities, and situations in homes. Do you have confidence in the word of God to lead you through those things? The word and the word alone, it is by scripture alone, which has proceeded out of the mouth of God that we live our lives. You know, are you resting your hopes on man's wisdom for your job, man's wisdom for how you construct your hobbies, and if you're getting your wisdom from movies, you're trying to build your reputation from this or that thing, Stop.

I mean, the Word of God is sufficient to build your life. And by the way, we're so aware of this now because our government is doing things they've never done. We've never had to ask questions like we're having to ask during this coronavirus lockdown. Don't rest your hope in the government. Don't rest your hope in science.

Don't rest your hope in freedoms. Don't rest your hope in rights. Don't rest your hope in the First Amendment. Don't rest your hope in the First Amendment. Don't rest your hope in the Constitution.

Your hope is in Jesus Christ. He's over it all. He controls it all. Well, I'm glad for the First Amendment, and I think we should appeal for it. But that's not my hope.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name." So they're casting lots for the robe and it's a testimony of God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises. This robe was probably Christ's only possession. At death it's all distributed. That's what happened.

All things will be distributed at death. I read this week that over half of Americans will not receive a paycheck in May. Don't place your hope in riches. You never see trailers behind hearse in the funeral procession. You can't take anything with you.

It might be taken away while you're here. It was here at the cross that Jesus had lost his final possession. Jesus is punished this way so that his blood-bought children would not suffer the same punishment. His clothes were taken from Him to show that we deserved to be stripped and exposed, even our clothes taken from us, so that we would not be exposed. And what we wear becomes His, and what He wears on the cross becomes ours.

Our filthy rags are laid on Him, and His robes of righteousness are laid on us. And that really is the most important question in your life. Whose robes are you wearing? The robes of your own righteousness? The robes of the identifications of this world?

Or the robes of Jesus Christ, his robes of righteousness. If you believe in him, He will take your filthy robes and he'll clothe you with his robe. Jesus speaks about this in Revelation chapter 3. He's talking to the church in Laodicea. He says, I know your works, but you're neither hot nor cold.

And he says, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed by his garments." The command boasts in his garments. To shame Jesus they took His garments. To save us from shame, He closed us with His robes of righteousness. Boast. Boast, brothers and sisters, in the garments of Jesus Christ.

The fifth command, boast in his family and friends, verses 25 to 27. Now they're stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, He said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her into his own home.

So there are four women there listed. All have remarkable stories different. They all have different stories very different stories. You know, Mary Magdalene, delivered from seven demons, by the way, she is not called a prostitute in the New Testament. John is the only gospel writer who reports this scene That's before us now.

Much has been written about the women who attended Jesus. It is a beautiful testimony. It is a picture of the faithful hearts that God particularly gives to women. They deeply desire to serve God and these holy women are there. Matthew and Mark say that many women were there, many, or at least many women followed.

I'm assuming they're there, But this scene is very tender. It bears witness to something that we've all known and seen right here in our own church. It's the precious and tender devotion of women. It is legendary, and it's legendary in our church. We have many women, I praise God for them, They have the imperishable beauty of God, and they want to serve God, and they want to obey God.

It's such a beautiful thing. Each woman has her story in this scene. All are different. All are stunning. Imagine Mary, though, perhaps the most difficult moment in her life since she discovered that she was pregnant.

With Child in Luke chapter 2 verse 35 we find Simeon speaking to Mary. He says, A sword will pierce through your own soul. And of Mary it says she pondered these things in her heart. Mary is probably in her 50s or 60s at this time, like many of the women in our church. What's happening here?

Jesus is keeping the fifth commandment to honor His mother. Jesus loves the law. Jesus keeps the law of God, always keeping it perfectly. So in keeping, in obeying the fifth commandment, he provides for the ongoing and earthly tender care of his dear mother, Mary. Jesus is delegating her care to John.

That's verse 26. He says to her, Woman, behold your son, and then to the disciple, behold your mother. Now, in his suffering, his heart is tender and protective of his mother. He honors his mother, obeying Exodus chapter 20 verse 12. Honor your father and your mother, That your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

The design of the family is love, honor, and lifelong protection. And the requirements of the law of God are summed up in the word of love. In the Bible, the men protect the women. Women are placed under the care of men. Men have very direct, very specific commands about how to treat women, to treat them beautifully with honor and respect and kindness, with the washing of water by the word like Christ did His Church.

And so When you have a young girl, she's protected by her father, who's under divine commands. He cannot do whatever he wants. When she's married, she's protected by her husband. He cannot do whatever he wants. He cannot be whoever he wants to be.

He must be like Christ. And when a husband is gone, she's protected by her wider family. And when there's no family, she's protected by the Church. And that's what we see here. Most believe that Mary's husband has been long gone for some reason.

On the cross, Jesus delegates the care of his mother to John. He takes her home. John takes takes Jesus' mother under his roof. By the way, side note, the disciples of Jesus were not 16-year-olds in youth ministry. These were men who had houses, they had boats, and they had office, they had tax offices, and they, and some of them had wives.

So Jesus is on the cross and the women are there, both his family and his friends. He's caring for both. It isn't just his family that he cares for. He has many who are not of his family in front of that cross. And He would continue to take care of them, and He would pour out His Spirit upon them, and He would never leave them or forsake them by His Spirit.

Boast. You can boast. Boast in his family and his friends. Boast in the glory of Jesus Christ who makes you part of his family, who takes you in undeserving though you might be, he takes you in And he never leaves you. Number six, boast in his thirst.

Verses 28 to 29, boast in his thirst. Verse 28, after this, Jesus, that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there and they filled a sponge with sour wine. Put it on hyssop and put it to his mouth. Of course this is in fulfillment of Psalm 22 verse 15, where we read, My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaws.

You have brought me to the dust of death. This is what happened to those who were crucified. The Romans knew this. It caused an just an unquenchable thirst. We know what kind of thirst is this.

It's physical thirst. Jesus was a man. And he became thirsty as every man would. But it's more than that. I want to suggest that it's also a foretaste of hell.

It's a description of what Jesus suffered for us to keep us from this thirst, from this hellish kind of thirst that he was subjected to. Jesus thirsts because he is experiencing the unquenchable thirst from the fires of hell. And this is exactly what the Apostles Creed refers to. I'll read it. He descended into hell.

The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven. Like the rich man in Lazarus, he was so thirsty that there was no one to give him a drink and Jesus is experiencing the thirst he does not deserve to keep us from the thirst that we do deserve because of our sins he is tasting death the the very dust of death says the psalmist in Psalm 22, we deserve the unquenched fire and the unbounded anguished thirst that drives you almost uncontrollably to madness. And so he's given this sour wine. We're told that the wine was lifted up to him with hyssop.

Oh, let's see, scan your Bibles. Scan your Bibles. What comes to mind when you hear the word hyssop? It's extremely significant. The hyssop was a commonly used substance, and God ordered at this moment that it would be used at the cross.

Why? Because During the Passover, God commanded the children of Israel to spread blood on the doorposts of their house with hyssop. He drank the sour wine so that we would have the sweetness of the fruit of the vine, and he drinks the sour cup so that we drink the sweet cup, the cup of blessing, the place of sweetness in the Lord's Supper, we celebrate it. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we look at our sin, we take a glance there, We examine ourselves, but we are called to look to Christ, to come and drink, to come and eat. In other words, don't look at yourself, Look at Christ.

Look at what He's done. Jesus has already, earlier in the Gospel of John, spoken to a woman about being thirsty. In John chapter 3, he says to her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. And then Jesus replies, he says, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. And the woman said to him, Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst." And then later on in the gospel in John 7 37 he would say if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink Out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.

He spoke of the Spirit When he said that so boast boast in his thirst Jesus took our place. He tasted the thirst we deserved. We deserved to be tormented with this anguished thirsting for all eternity. And he thirsted for his children so that they would not thirst but they would have the waters of life. The next and final command, the seventh command, boasts in his finished work, church.

Verse 30. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. So he says, it is finished. By the way, it is finished.

Three English words is one Greek word. And this word is found on tax documents in Israel. And it means paid. Paid. Paid in full.

Finished. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross is a finished work. Redemption accomplished. Justification secured. Satisfaction for sin achieved on the cross.

It is finished. Now These words are taken from Daniel 927. You can see God is bringing all of scripture together. In this moment of time, Daniel 924, we find the angel Gabriel's prophesying of the Messiah. Daniel, it's a remarkably moving moment.

Go read Daniel 9. Daniel is confessing his sins. He's confessing the sins of his nation like we should be doing right now. And then an angel Gabriel speaks to him and says, 70 weeks are determined for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression to make an end of sins to make reconciliation for iniquity to bring in everlasting righteousness to seal up vision and prophecy and anoint the most holy. He made an end of sins.

It is finished. It's over. His death alone provides the only salvation for the soul. And do you believe that? Do you believe that there is only salvation in the shed blood of Jesus Christ?

It is finished. You cannot Add one single thing to what has been done for you. That's a great statement. I've taken it from someone else. You cannot add one thing that has been done for you.

Add to one thing that has been done for you. You can see why we should boast. So where is your boast? What makes you tick? What gives you strength?

A boast, according to the Biblical definition, is to give a high level of confidence. A boast is something noteworthy. A boast is a joy. A boast tells of a security. A boast is a thing you say when you're confident.

A boast is something you say when you have something of value. A boast is something that holds you. A boast is something that holds on to you. It's a treasure. It's a rock.

It's a pillar. It's a pearl of great price. It's your identity. It's your life. It's your happiness.

It is your boast. And I pray that the boasting of the cross of Jesus Christ would be all of these for us and that we would rise every day, come together every time, even on the live stream, and boast and praise what is most worthy of boasting, to talk about what is most worthy, to appreciate what is most worthy, to boast about the Holy One who was sacrificed for sins. We began our service today singing beneath the cross of Jesus. I wrote down these lines, I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face. That's what it means to boast in Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And so the Apostle Paul leads us to the heart of the matter, but God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is it the cross of Jesus Christ that makes you boast so that your emotions are moved, your mind is activated, your confidence is increased, your joy is fulfilled? Have you come to the cross? No one is more invigorated than the sinner who comes to the cross. Have you come to the cross of Jesus Christ?

Come to the cross. It's the place of boasting, it's the place of joy, it's the place of confidence and invigoration. If you want invigoration, if you need it, go to the cross. And that's God's desire for Hope Baptist Church, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, that we would find all of our satisfaction, all of our accomplishments in the accomplishments of the cross. So I give you the best advice I can give you.

Boast. Boast in his ostracism. Boast in the thieves. Boast in his title. Boast of his garments, boast in his family and friends, boast in his thirst, boast in his finished work.

And the confidence and the happiness of the Lord Jesus Christ will be yours. He was made sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God. Let's pray. Lord, we are so thankful for the joy that was set before you so that there would be joy set before us every day. Make us a people like that.

Pray that you would move those who have not the ability to boast in your cross, to give them something to boast about that lasts. Amen.