In his sermon titled 'The Implications of 'It Is Finished!'', Jason Dohm expounds on the transition from the old to the new covenant as prophesied in Jeremiah 31. He highlights the significance of Jesus' crucifixion as the sealing of the new covenant, which is characterized by faith rather than genealogy. Dohm explains that the tearing of the veil symbolizes the inclusion of Gentiles into God's covenant and the rejection of unbelieving Israel, drawing parallels with historical events like the capture of the Ark of the Covenant. The sermon also delves into the supernatural phenomena that occurred at Jesus' death, such as the earthquake and the resurrection of many saints, emphasizing God's demonstration of power and fulfillment of promises. The reactions of the centurion and the crowd are noted as acknowledgments of Jesus' divine identity. Furthermore, Dohm honors the women present at the crucifixion for their devotion and contrasts their roles with those of the absent male disciples. He concludes with an exhortation to believers to embrace the privileges of the new covenant and a call to unbelievers to recognize the unique opportunity presented to them in this dispensation.

Now turn to Jeremiah 31. In Jeremiah 31 we have a prophet speaking about the new covenant and the changeover from the old to the new covenant. Jeremiah 31, chapter 31, I'll begin reading in verse 31. Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 31, the inspired prophet says this, Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord.

I will put my law in their minds and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more." God through the prophet says that He's going to send a new covenant. This is what Jesus is doing in our text by dying and sealing this new covenant.

The prophet says it's not going to be like the old covenant. It's not going to be like the Mosaic covenant that is in force for almost 1, 500 years. He says that it's not going to be genealogical. That you won't have to teach your brother of this new nation to know the Lord because everyone in the new nation will know the Lord. Because it's not bloodline, it's faith.

It's the children of Abraham who have the faith of Abraham. So it's not going to be a bloodline at all. It's going to be those who have saving faith. So you won't have to tell someone of this new nation to know the Lord because they'll all know the Lord. By definition, they'll all know the Lord because they have the faith of Abraham.

The Gentiles are being grafted in. It does not say that here, but this is the implication. And this is what is happening when the veil is torn from top to bottom. It's announcing, one of the things it's announcing is that the Gentiles are being grafted in. There's a new covenant.

The third thing that the tearing of the veil from top to bottom represents is the rejection of unbelieving Israel. Now not all Israel is rejected. But unbelieving Israel, the Israel that is rejecting their Messiah, that is putting to death their Redeemer. This unbelieving Israel, this national Israel is being rejected by God. Now in 50 days from the events of our text, in 50 days there's going to be a significant end gathering of Jews on the day of Pentecost.

There will be 3, 000 Jews. Many of them are priests. They will be brought in to this new nation. 3, 000 from the old nation and the old covenant brought Forward into the new nation the new covenant, and they won't have to tell each other know the Lord because they'll all know the Lord They'll all be members under the new covenant. But there is a rejection here of unbelieving Israel and the tearing of the veil from top to bottom is announcing that.

This has happened before. You see it happened in 1 Samuel chapter 4. In 1 Samuel chapter 4, Israel goes to war against the Philistines. And the Philistines win the first engagement. And there's a slaughter of Israelites.

And the Israelites troubleshoot the problem and they say the problem is that the presence of God isn't with us. So they send to Shiloh where the Ark of the Covenant is and they bring the Ark of the Covenant up to where the battle is taking place and two priests come with it. And in the ensuing battle Israel is defeated again because their problem wasn't not having the ark. The problem was they would not repent. So there's another slaughter and the Philistines win again and the Philistines actually capture the Ark of the Testimony and take it away from Israel.

And these two priests who have accompanied the Ark are killed. One of these priests, Finhas, is his name. Finhas has a pregnant wife and news comes to her. There are two pieces of news that come to this pregnant wife. The first is that the Ark of the Covenant has been captured by the Philistines and has been taken from Israel.

The second is that her husband is dead. And this news puts her into labor and she's dying in childbirth, but Before she dies in childbirth, she names this baby boy that she's giving birth to Ichabod, which literally means inglorious. And she says, because the Lord has departed from Israel, because the glory has departed from Israel. To her, to this wife of a dead priest, the Ark of the testimony being captured by the Philistines and removed from Israel is a sign of the judgment of God that God has removed his glory from Israel. This is what's happening in Matthew 27 when the veil is torn from top to bottom.

The glory is departing from the nation of Israel. Because they have rejected their Messiah, the anointed one, the one that God has sent to be the Redeemer. Remember in chapter 23, when Jesus is talking about how their fathers have treated the prophets, which one of the prophets did your fathers not kill? You've killed prophet after prophet And then he says this in Matthew chapter 23, verse 32. Fill up then the measure of your father's guilt.

You remember Jesus saying that? And he's talking about The people rejecting him, the nation rejecting him, the nation killing him on the heels of having killed all the prophets. And he calls this a filling up of their fathers guilt, all the way to the brim. And then what does he talk about right after that? The destruction of the temple.

You see how all this fits together. They have filled by rejecting Jesus, by murdering the Son of God. They have filled up their father's guilt. And the glory of the Lord has departed Israel, and the tearing of the veil from top to bottom is the beginning of what will be completed in a little less than 40 years in 70 AD, or around 40 years in 70 AD, with the utter destruction of not just the temple but all of Jerusalem. The first of the supernatural testimonials is God himself rending the veil from the top to the bottom.

The next supernatural testimonial is the shaking of the earth and the splitting of rocks. The Earthquake is so violent that rocks are rent. That rocks are split apart. Like the darkening of the sun, all of creation is at the Lord's command and He is commanding His creation to testify to what's happening in these moments when Jesus Christ is sealing the New Covenant. So we have the darkness for three hours and now we have an earthquake, so violent an earthquake that rocks are splitting.

There's a lot of Old Testament precedent for earthquakes. And it always means the awesome power of God and or the wrath of God. Anytime you're seeing earthquakes in the Old Testament, it's one or the other or both of those things. The awesome power of God and or the wrath of God. And judging by the reaction of the people who are here to feel this earthquake And to see rocks split, the people are getting the point.

They're understanding this display of the awesome power of God and the wrath of God. And it's having the desired effect. I want to give you two examples from the Old Testament of earthquakes that demonstrate what I'm saying. And they're just representative examples. You can go to a bunch of other places.

But here are the ones I'm giving you. In Exodus 19, 18, the giving of the Ten Commandments is in Exodus chapter 20. So this is just a few verses back from that. Exodus 19, verse 18 records what's happening at Mount Sinai where the Ten Commandments were given by God. And there's smoke and there's fire and the text says the whole mountain quaked.

God was there at Mount Sinai to give his commandments and the whole mountain quaked. Here's the other one. In 1 Samuel 14 verse 15, The Israelites are at it again with the Philistines. And Jonathan and his armor bearer have been extremely bold and have gone up against a whole troop of Philistines. And these two men, because they believed God have slaughtered 20 Philistines.

And the text says in 1 Samuel 14 verse 15, The earth quaked. When these men of faith believed God and went up against this troop of Philistines and slaughtered them, the earth quaked. And then their enemies quaked. And then there was a great victory for Israel. The point is, when there's an earthquake, God is on the scene.

God is announcing himself to be present. God is signaling the importance of what is happening. So we have the rending of the veil from top to bottom. We have an earthquake so violent that rocks are splitting. And finally, we have a supernatural testimonial that after Jesus' resurrection, many saints are raised from the dead and they appear to many in Jerusalem.

So it's not a saint or two appearing to a person or two, it's many saints raised from the dead appearing to many after they've gone into Jerusalem. It says that this happens after Jesus' resurrection. I think the natural way to understand this is that they were raised from the dead after Jesus' resurrection and they went into Jerusalem, not that there's any sort of delay. There's nothing linguistically that makes that a problem. That fits fine with the Greek.

After Jesus' resurrection, many saints, many who trusted in God, who believed God and it was credited to them for righteousness, are raised from the dead and they go into Jerusalem and they appear to many people. Listen to this. Jesus made this claim before he raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11 verse 25. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.

Jesus claims to be the resurrection and the life. That life is in him and he has the power to raise those who have faith in him. And in Matthew 27 in our text today, God ratifies it. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life and God ratifies it right here in Matthew 27. This is beautiful.

Listen to Paul in Romans 8 verses 10 and 11. In Romans 8 verses 10 and 11, Paul writes, And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, But the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Paul talks about the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and he's making an argument, and the argument is this. If the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is in you, God will raise you from the dead also. God is declaring this circumstantially through the things that are happening in Matthew 27.

That these saints who believed God and it was credited to them as righteousness, just like Abraham, after the resurrection of Jesus, would be resurrected from the dead is a sign to you, believer. A sign and a guarantee and a promise that you will be raised from the dead in kind. This is why Colossians 1 verse 18 and Revelation 1 verse 5 calls Jesus the firstborn from the dead. Colossians 1 verse 18 and Revelation 1 verse 5, Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead. He is the first fruits.

He is the deposit. And He goes ahead and His resurrection guarantees those who have trusted in Him will also be raised from the dead. What else is God teaching when He raises many saints from the dead to appear to many in Jerusalem? God is demonstrating that life and death is exclusively his turf. Unquestionably, God is demonstrating that life and death is exclusively his own turf.

Remember this from the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 39. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 39. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 39, now see that I, even I am He, and there is no God besides me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal.

Nor is there any who can deliver from my hand. Jesus died because God killed him. These saints were raised because God made them alive. Life and death is exclusively the territory of God Almighty. And there are secondary causes around the death of Jesus Christ and his murderers are guilty of murdering him.

But God kills and he makes alive. He declares that life and death are his. No man dies unless God does it. And that includes Jesus. He was offered up.

God was pleased to crush him. God has declared that he did this. And he declares that he can raise from the dead. He kills and he makes alive. He wounds and he heals.

And there is no one who can deliver from His hand. Now, let me answer all the questions you have about these dead saints being raised up and going in and appearing to many in Jerusalem. I can answer all of these questions with confidence. Question. Were these recently deceased saints so that they would be recognized when they go into Jerusalem?

How are they going to know it's Isaiah? This is not the age of Facebook and pictures. How would they even know if it was Isaiah? And the correct answer is, the text does not say. Question.

Were they raised with corruptible bodies like Lazarus so that they died again? Or were they raised incorruptible? And the correct answer is, the text does not say. What did they do when they were in Jerusalem? Who did they see?

What did they say? And the correct answer is, the text does not say. Now, I say that half kidding, but I'm only half kidding. Because our doctrine of scripture is that God has told us everything about this and everything else that he desires for us to know. He has given us a complete word.

He hasn't left out things that he wanted us to know. He's told us the things he wanted us to know. And so this is a good opportunity to say, yes, there are many other things we would like to know God didn't want us to know. If He wanted us to know, He would have told us. And so, the text doesn't say is a brilliant answer to a lot of questions.

And it's the right answer to a lot of questions. And I want to exhort us as a local church not to be theological eggheads who are always speculating about what God hasn't told us. I want us to love our theology. Theology is the study of God. We should love theology because we love God.

We want to know Him and He's revealed in the Scriptures. But it is unhealthy and it is not good and it's a violation of our doctrine of scripture to always be speculating about the things that God has not told us. And the reformers were generally speaking very careful not to tread on the areas that God has not spoken to because they knew if he wanted to, he would have. They weren't particularly careful about this. I read a lot of speculation about all those questions.

So we've talked about the supernatural testimonies. Secondly, I'd like to talk about the reactions to these events. You have the centurion and his companions and you have the people. Luke actually talks to us about the people where our text in Matthew doesn't. You have a centurion.

Now a centurion by definition has command of a hundred men. We use the word century, we mean a hundred years. A centurion actually uses the same base word of a hundred. So a centurion is a Roman officer who has command of a hundred men. We don't know how many of his men were there, but he definitely has comrades because they're named in the text.

And they see the earthquake and the things that had happened, and they're terrified. The text says that they're greatly afraid. The NIV renders it terrified. So we know about the earthquake, and we know about the rock splitting. They saw that with their own two eyes and it made them afraid.

But it also speaks of the things that had happened. So let's review the things that had happened that bring us forward to the confession of the centurion and his companions. First, when they crucified Jesus, Jesus says, Father forgive them for they do not know what they do." I guarantee you this was not standard fare for men who are crucifying criminals. They had never heard that before in their life. They are crucifying Jesus and He says, Father forgive them.

They don't know what they are doing. That was Luke 23 verse 34. They are present for the mocking done by the chief priests and the elders and the scribes when they say, Jesus trusted in God, let God deliver Jesus now if he will have him. For Jesus said, I am the Son of God. That's Matthew 27 verse 43.

So they know that Jesus has claimed to be the Son of God because in their mocking the chief priests and the elders and the scribes have said he said he was the Son of God. Let God come and rescue him now. They were there at noon at the brightest point of the day when the sun went dark for three hours. They were there. They were there when Jesus cried out, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Obviously calling out to God and calling God his Father.

That's Luke 23 verse 45. So they feel the earthquake and they see rocks split. And they conclude that since Jesus had said that he was the son of God, that he must be the Son of God. And they confess, truly this was the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of God.

In Luke 23 verse 47 It says that the centurion glorified God saying, certainly this was a righteous man. He glorified God with his testimony and he said Jesus was a righteous man. He acknowledged that Jesus was an innocent sufferer and that he died not as a criminal but as an innocent man, being what he said he was. In the very next verse in Luke, in Luke 23 verse 48, it says that the whole crowd reacts, the whole multitude reacts. Listen to Luke 23, 48.

And the whole crowd who came together to that site, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. So it's not just the centurion. The centurion is all that Matthew gives us. And he declares that truly Jesus Christ was the Son of God. He was certainly a righteous man.

He glorified God with his testimony, with his declaration. But it wasn't just him. The whole multitude, they see what happens and they beat their breasts in grief, being greatly disturbed and they return to their homes. They might have been swayed, this crowd might have been swayed, to ask for Barabbas, this murderous insurrectionist. And they might have screamed, crucified him at the top of their lungs.

And they might have mocked and ridiculed Jesus. But when the sun goes dark and the earth shakes and the rocks split and Jesus cries out with a loud voice, they beat their breasts and they leave because they have a sense of the displeasure of God towards the people who have rejected this man. They have a sense that they filled up the measure of their father's guilt by murdering this righteous man, this innocent man. So we've talked about the supernatural testimonies and we've talked about the reaction of the centurion and his comrades and the people. Now I'd like to talk about the women who were present.

The men are absent, with one exception. John is the exception. Maybe we'll have time to talk about him. There's no mention of any men in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. John mentions himself being there.

But there are women there who are extraordinary in their devotion to Jesus Christ when all the men have fled and forsaken Jesus but one. Matthew lists three by name, but he says they were part of many women who followed Jesus from Galilee ministering to him. Those are the exact words of 27 verse 55 from our text. They are part of many women who followed Jesus from Galilee ministering to him. So there are women who have been following Jesus and caring for him.

And all four of the gospel writers memorialize these women. All four, Matthew does, Mark does, Luke does, John does, They memorialize and they honor these women who have this extraordinary devotion to Jesus. Here are the three by name. First we have Mary Magdalene. She's here at the cross.

She's at his burial. She's the first to see Jesus after his resurrection. Listen to Luke 8 verses 2 and 3. Luke 8 verses 2 and 3. Luke 8 verses 2 and 3.

It speaks of certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chazza, Herod's steward, and Susanna and many others who provided for him from their substance. Luke actually begins speaking about these women who are devoted to Jesus in Luke chapter 8. And Mary Magdalene is the first on that list. She's a woman that Jesus has shown extraordinary mercy to.

He's delivered her from seven demons. And she's received mercy from Jesus Christ and she loves Him. And she is devoted to Him so that even though she can do nothing for Him, even though there's great risk of being there, and even though she does not want to see Jesus die, she cannot be anywhere else. But she stands there and she watches Him die because she loves Him. Because he's had mercy on her.

And there are other women here. Joanna and Susanna, and they've been providing for him out of their substance. Jesus here is a model of a preacher who lives by his preaching of the gospel. Others are providing for him. There are women here who are taking of their own means and providing for Jesus and his disciples.

By the way, Mary is often thought of as a former prostitute. She is often thought of as the same person as Mary of Bethany, Mary and Martha. There's not a stitch of biblical evidence for that. That's not true. Or if it is true, you have no reason to think it's true from the Bible.

The Bible's testimony is that she was delivered from seven demons. I do not believe that she was a former prostitute and I do not believe she is the same person as Mary and Martha. And there is no biblical evidence to support either one of those. The second name on the list is Mary the mother of James and Joseph. Mark says, Mary the mother of James the less and Joseph.

So that would be as opposed to James and John, I believe. James, the less, and Joseph. The third person on the list is the mother of Zebedee's sons. It's the mother of the sons of thunder. James and John is there watching.

In Matthew chapter 20 verse 20 you'll remember that she comes to Jesus and she makes a request that one son would be on his right hand and one son would be on his left hand when he comes into his kingdom. And Jesus says this to these men, to these sons of hers. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" And now she is here to witness him drink his cup and be baptized. His death was what he was talking about then. And this woman who made the request and heard Jesus say that is here at the cross watching him die.

And now she knows what he meant. Now I'm going to depart to the other Gospels. In Mark, there's a fourth name, Salome. Now in all the other names that I'm going to mention, there's all sorts of speculation about overlap. Here's an example.

Salome, many commentators believe that Salome is actually the mother of Zebedee's sons, that it's the same person. So Matthew says the mother of Zebedee's sons, James and John's mother. But Mark says Salome. Maybe. The text does not say.

God never connects those dots. So it might be informed speculation, but it is only speculation. Salome was there. And Salome will also be at the tomb. There's a fifth name in the Gospel of John, Jesus' mother.

Jesus' mother was there. Now listen to Matthew 13 verse 55. In Matthew 13, Jesus is in his hometown. He is in Nazareth. And the people of Nazareth are offended because Jesus is teaching authoritatively.

And they can't believe that this carpenter's son has grown up to be an authoritative teacher and they're offended by it. And here's what they say in Matthew 13 verse 55. Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.

I think when Matthew names Mary the mother of James and Joseph's he's actually talking about Jesus's mother. There's a textual reason to think that Because his brothers are named in Matthew 13 verse 55 But that's not a sure thing either. At least there's textual evidence. He had a brother named James, he had a half brother named James, he had a half brother named Joseph. There's a sixth name also mentioned in John.

Jesus' mother's sister, Jesus' aunt is there. There's also speculation about how this aunt of his might be one of the other women who were named earlier. It's possible, but Scripture never connects those dots. I think it's very possible that you have seven different names, but it's really just three people. The seventh name of a woman at the cross is also in John, Mary the wife of Clopas.

Now John MacArthur says that Mary the wife of Clopas is the same person as the mother of James and Joseph. He doesn't believe that's Jesus' mother. He believes it's the mother of James and Joseph because Clopas is a variant of Alphaeus. And Alphaeus, there's a James the son of Alphaeus is one of the 12 disciples. So John MacArthur thinks that's James the Less and he might be right.

I couldn't find where Clopas was a variant of Alpheus, but John MacArthur is an excellent expositor with the highest integrity. So I'm sure he's not pulling that out of the air. Okay, here's the point. The point is that these women loved Jesus. And the point is that they lavished devotion on Jesus when his disciples were nowhere to be found.

There are different roles in the Kingdom of Heaven. And sometimes that's determined by gender, and sometimes that's determined by other things. Your gifting, your circumstances, the resources that God has given you. But wherever your place, whether your role is defined by your gender, or by the gifts that God has given you, or by the resources that He puts into your hands. Love Him.

Love Him. Be devoted to Him in it. In your spot, in your niche, in your place, in the Kingdom of Heaven. Love Him. And be devoted to Him.

Not everyone is going to be a street preacher. And if you think that the valuable people in the Kingdom of Heaven are street preachers. And everybody else is second class then come to the cross and read the roll. Take attendance at the cross. There are women here who will never street preach and who may not be bold evangelists, but they have a place in the kingdom of heaven and they love Jesus Christ and they are devoted to him with all their being.

Whatever niche God gives you in his kingdom, wrap your arms around it and squeeze And be devoted to Jesus and love him like these women did. They're memorialized by every one of the gospel writers. It's like the woman who comes and she breaks open that flask of really expensive ointment and just wastes it all on Jesus. Here are more women coming to waste affection on Jesus. Doesn't that jar you to hear that?

That's why I'm saying it. I want you to be jarred by it. There is no wasted affection on Jesus Christ. Jesus has gone out of his way to inspire gospel writers to memorialize women who loved him and lavished upon him. And as a man I come to this text and say I wish I was one of those women.

I I trade spots right now. Turn to Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9. Back to the implications of It Is Finished, the sermon title. The death of Jesus Christ has broad ranging, sweeping implications.

A covenant enforced for 1500 years swept aside and a new covenant sealed with his blood. A new covenant that gives his people free access to the presence of a holy God. Hebrews chapter 9, I'm going to read 1 through 15. Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared, the first part in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary.

And behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. And above it were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy sea. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services. But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance." The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

It was symbolic for the present time, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regards to the conscience. Concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of Reformation. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, But with his own blood he entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for purifying of the flesh. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

And for this reason, he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. I want to close with an exhortation To the believer and to the unbeliever, to the believer, to those who truly profess Christ, how are you making use of this wonderful covenant that is mediated by a sympathetic high priest who gives you free access into the presence of a holy God. What will you do with this covenant? Will you find yourself too busy to be with God? Don't you know that the old Covenant saints would kill to be you.

Access is so free through this sympathetic high priest who has offered himself up to give you these privileges. What will you do with your privileges, Christian? There's more here for us, brothers and sisters. There's more. There's more joy.

There's more fellowship with God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. There's more holiness than we have even scratched the surface of. So I want to say to you brothers and sisters, go for it, go for it. This has cost Jesus his life. He shed his blood to be a sympathetic high priest so that you could come into the presence of a holy God and enjoy His presence, the presence of a Father.

Not the presence of a righteous judge any longer, but the presence of a Father. We should press in to our privileges. Unbeliever. I want to say to you, unbeliever, this is an unusual appeal. Normally it's repent, and this is sort of going to be repent, but it's going to be a gentler version of it.

Unbeliever. It is a great time to be a Gentile unbeliever. Do you know that for most of human history, God would have just passed over you and you never would have had his word. You never would have heard the preaching of the gospel. Jesus calls out pagan cities and he says, woe to you Bethsaida if the miracles that were done in you would have been done in Tyre or Sidon or Sodom or Gomorrah.

They would have repented long ago. God passed over the pagans for so long. But now you have the preaching of the gospel and it's God's mercy towards mankind that has grafted in the Gentiles. There's never been a time to be a Gentile unbeliever like this dispensation. Never.

There's hope. There's more hope for you now than there ever was for a Gentile unbeliever. He is kind. He is merciful. Because you're hearing the gospel, you know that He's merciful.

In times past, He passed over whole nations. There is hope for you. There is hope that he might show you the beauty of his kingdom and awaken you and give you eyes to see so that you would repent. The times of refreshing would come from the presence of the Lord. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you for our text. I thank you for the New covenant and a contemplation of it. It's so refreshing, God, just to contemplate the new covenant. It was good to be an old covenant believer, I'm sure of that, to be entrusted with the oracles of God, to have your law. But, O God, we see that you have given a new covenant that is better in every way.

It's based on better promises. And it comes mediated by a sympathetic high priest who shed his own blood. We thank you. God, I pray that you would help your people to press into the privileges purchased by you, sealed by your blood. May it be so in Jesus' name, amen.

Man, over to you for continued teaching. Thank you, Jason. I'm not going to talk about it, but maybe afterwards it would be good for us to talk about the lady you didn't get to, with John talking of himself there and what Jesus did. Maybe it would be great for us to talk about it during the meal afterwards, what happened there. Okay, all right.

So I'll talk about that plus my other point. I want to prepare to go to John. But in John, Jesus talks of... So Jesus is dying on the cross. I don't have the text right here in front of me.

Jesus is dying. And what does He do as the oldest son? He sees his mom there, John's there, and Jesus takes care of his mom. And doesn't just put his mom in John's house. He puts his mom in a believer's house.

He has brothers and sisters as Jason alluded to today. He has brothers and sisters. They may have been there, may not have been there. We're around. So brother, sister, you're unbelieving brother, sister, your brother's dying.

That's a big event. But Jesus to Mary, behold your son, to John, behold your mother, and carefully places His mother in a believer's home. What a testimony to us, right? That's what we see there. What a great testimony to us in taking care of our parents, especially mothers, as is put out here, but parents, right?

So anti-Corban, so anti what Jesus railed against back several chapters ago of children that were not taking care of their parents. And Jesus as the oldest son, especially, takes care of his mother and ultimately takes care by putting her in a Christian home. It wouldn't be helpful to put her necessarily in a non-Christian's home, although that's the preference. The preference is to be in your own blood family's home. But Jesus was just fine to put her in non-blood family, but eternal blood family's home and very tender.

There on the cross, on the cross, forgives people, saves people, cares for his mother. I know I exhorted my sons yesterday morning in this matter of what is expected of them if something happened to me. I don't know if you want to add anything to that. This is John 19, 25-27. Jesus is on the cross.

He's on the cross. And he looks at his mother and he says, woman, behold your son. Talking about John. He's now your son. And he looks at John and he says, behold your mother.

And from that moment on, Mary the mother of Jesus comes into John's household and she becomes a part of his household. Now, he has adult brothers. Adult brothers who are going to be saved and write New Testament books, but Evidently, they are not saved yet. Jesus prioritizes the family of God over his half-brothers. This speaks volumes to us.

We are more truly brothers and sisters than we are with our blood brothers and sisters. Unless they are in the faith and then you've got an argument. More truly to the extent that Jesus on the cross would put his mother in a disciples household over his unregenerate blood brothers. It's astounding. It's so significant what he says here.

My original point. Going to Luke 23, 48 that you brought up and I just want to speak a little bit more on that. I'll reread it. And the whole crowd who came together to that site, seeing what had been done, beat their breast in return. So we don't know, the text doesn't say, why they beat their breast in return, totally, were any of them saved or not.

But this is what we do know. The Spirit of God pricked their hearts that they had sinned. Whether they would call it sin or not, the Spirit of God pricked their hearts that they had sinned. So, to Christians and non-Christians, how do you react when God pricks your conscience? Especially to salvation for the non-Christians here.

Unbelievers, God has pricked your conscience this morning that Jesus is not your Savior, that you have not trusted him, then repent. Then repent. Don't leave here just saying it was a wonderful message, wonderful meal, great fellowship with friends. Repent and be saved. That will last you for all eternity.

The meal we will have here today will last you till early evening. All right? But repent and be saved. Christian, this is me. How many times has our conscience been pricked, our spirit been pricked of sin?

We may beat our breast and walk away and just feel good about ourselves that we beat our chest. And that I recognized I had sin. And walked away and just, all right, I'll try to do better. Even as a Christian, I can still have those tendencies quite a bit just to say, I'll do better. Thank you for pricking my conscience.

I might even cry. I might even weep over it. But just, yeah, Alright, I'll do better. And don't truly repent. In turn, the repentance of a Christian, truly desire to repent when God pricks your conscience.

Who knows what happened to these people? I don't know. But I at least saw people moved by what happened. I wanna be a person that when God, when the Holy Spirit is so merciful, He was merciful to them, He was merciful to them, that they would see this, that their consciences would be changed, would at least change in some part to leave, but may our conscience, may our spirit never be seared against God's prodding us in a direction towards holiness. Open to Isaiah 56.

Open eyes, AF56. We're here at our observance of the Lord's Supper. Jesus wants us to do this so that we Remember His death in our place so that we proclaim His death so we examine ourselves. If you're His, if you're the Lord's and you've been baptized and you're willing to examine your heart, you're welcome. If any of those three things are lacking, just let it pass.

Isaiah 56, beginning in verse 1. Thus says the Lord, keep justice and do righteousness. For my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed." So we're in verse 1, we're in Isaiah, and God is talking about His righteousness to be revealed. This is a phrase, the revealing of the righteousness of God is an exact phrase that Paul uses twice, once in 1 Corinthians, once in Romans. Jesus Christ is the revealed righteousness of God.

So it's not explicit here, but this is what Isaiah 56 is talking about. Consider where it is seated in Isaiah. It's right after Isaiah 53, the suffering servant, the one who would come and give his life as a ransom. So here we are in Isaiah 56 after Isaiah 53. And he's talking in an indirect way about Jesus Christ as the righteousness of God.

So I'm going to start at the beginning again And then I'll keep going, I promise. Thus says the Lord, keep justice and do righteousness, for my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this and the Son of Man who lays hold on it, who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and keeps His hand from doing any evil. Do not let the Son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, The Lord has utterly separated me from his people, Nor let the eunuch say, Here I am, a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me, and hold fast my covenant, even to them I will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants, Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant, even them I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel says, Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him." I've read Isaiah 56 many times and gained some level of benefit from it but not really understood what this is saying. This is talking about Jesus Christ as the righteousness of God and it's talking about the new covenant. The prophet Isaiah takes up two classes of people and it's classes of people who are cut off from participation in temple worship.

Do you get that? He's talking about the sons of the foreigner, and he's talking about eunuchs, both forbidden to take apart in temple worship. And he's saying, eunuch, I'm bringing you into my house. Now that's against the law. That's against the old covenant.

Eunuch's are not allowed into the temple in the old covenant. But in Isaiah 56, through the prophet, God says, my righteousness is about to be revealed. And he's talking about Jesus. And he's talking about that when Jesus comes, eunuchs will be welcome in his house. And you can just hear John chapter 4.

A day is coming and now is where neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem you'll worship Me. You'll worship Me in spirit and in truth. And the eunuchs who were not welcome in the temple will be welcome in my house. And the sons of the foreigner who were not welcome in the temple, if you were a Moabite and you got circumcised, it would be ten generations before you could come and worship in the temple. You could participate in temple worship.

Ten generations after you were circumcised, the sons of the foreigner were excluded. But in the gospel dispensation under the new covenant, the sons of the foreigner are brought in because it's going to be a house of prayer for all nations. Not praying for all nations, I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for all nations, I'm saying that's not what it's saying here. It's saying that all nations are welcome to come to the house of prayer through Christ. This is what we celebrate with the Lord's Supper.

Let's give thanks for the bread. Father, I thank you for the body of Christ broken so that our bodies could one day be resurrected. That we can believe God and it can be credited to us as righteousness. Because one has stood in our place. I thank you for the body of Christ.

We rejoice. We remember that you died for us. We proclaim your death until you return. In Jesus' name, Amen.