Peace in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The whole Matthew 27 refers to seven sprinklings of blood upon the Ark of Covenant.
Now it means the suffering Jesus experiences up to His death on the cross to save, purify, and perfect us.
In Matthew 27, there are seven passages that refer to seven sprinklings of blood experienced by Jesus up to His death on the cross as follows:
Matthew 27:32 is about the practice of the cross.
Matthew 27:33 is about the place of the crucifixion.
Matthew 27:34-44 is about the meaning of the cross.
We have learnt verse 38-44 (the attitude to the cross).
Be alert! The chief priests reject the cross and Peter does too, but the transgressor receives it. Simon, a man of Cyrene , takes up the cross, but Simon Peter rejects it.
The right attitude is receiving the cross.
Tonight we learn verse 45-46 about the time of crucifixion.
Matthew 27:45-46
27:45. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Mark 15:25
15:25. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.
The time of Jesus’ crucifixion is as follows:
20:3. "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
20:4 "and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.
20:5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
The time of Jesus’ crucifixion relates to the time to work in the vineyard or the field of the Bride. It means the time to work in the ministry of building the body of Christ.
The body of Christ begins from the marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding, up to the unity of the house of Israel and the Gentiles in one body.
The time of Jesus’ crucifixion is same as the time to work in the vineyard, meaning Jesus is willing to die on the cross in order to always give us opportunity to work in the vineyard or the building of the body of Christ anywhere, anytime.
Why does God open the opportunity for us?
20:1. "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
20:2 "Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
20:6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
Actually, there are five kinds of time to work in the vineyard as follows.
Romans 11:25
11:25. For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Because a part of the house of Israel has rejected Jesus, so there is opened opportunity for the Gentiles to work in the vineyard or enter the building of the perfect body of Christ.
Thus, the Gentiles can serve and minister to God only because of the mercy and trust of God. Therefore, let us now keep the mercy and trust of God well, so they will never be diverted to others.
If the trust is diverted to other people, we will never return to it. It has happened to Judas Iscariot.
Thus, the Gentiles can work in the vineyard in the system of God’s mercy. We can do nothing outside the mercy of God. The system of God’s mercy is not in carelessness!
We minister in the system of God’s mercy but we cannot do the ministry carelessly, or else we despise the sacrifice of Jesus.
The practice of the system of God’s mercy is as follows.
The whole Matthew 27 refers to seven sprinklings of blood upon the Ark of Covenant.
Now it means the suffering Jesus experiences up to His death on the cross to save, purify, and perfect us.
In Matthew 27, there are seven passages that refer to seven sprinklings of blood experienced by Jesus up to His death on the cross as follows:
- Matthew 27:1-10, Jesus handed over to Pontius Pilate and Judas’ death.
- Matthew 27:11-26, Jesus faces Pilate.
- Matthew 27:27-32, the soldiers mock Jesus.
- Matthew 27:33-50, Jesus’ crucifixion.
- Matthew 27:51-56, miracles happen at the time of Jesus’ death.
- Matthew 27:57-61, Jesus buried in Joseph’s tomb.
- Matthew 27:62-66, Pilate sets a guard.
Matthew 27:32 is about the practice of the cross.
Matthew 27:33 is about the place of the crucifixion.
Matthew 27:34-44 is about the meaning of the cross.
We have learnt verse 38-44 (the attitude to the cross).
Be alert! The chief priests reject the cross and Peter does too, but the transgressor receives it. Simon, a man of Cyrene , takes up the cross, but Simon Peter rejects it.
The right attitude is receiving the cross.
Tonight we learn verse 45-46 about the time of crucifixion.
Matthew 27:45-46
27:45. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Mark 15:25
15:25. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.
The time of Jesus’ crucifixion is as follows:
- the third hour (9 a.m.),
- the sixth hour (12 at noon),
- the ninth hour (3 p.m.).
20:3. "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
20:4 "and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.
20:5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
The time of Jesus’ crucifixion relates to the time to work in the vineyard or the field of the Bride. It means the time to work in the ministry of building the body of Christ.
The body of Christ begins from the marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding, up to the unity of the house of Israel and the Gentiles in one body.
The time of Jesus’ crucifixion is same as the time to work in the vineyard, meaning Jesus is willing to die on the cross in order to always give us opportunity to work in the vineyard or the building of the body of Christ anywhere, anytime.
Why does God open the opportunity for us?
- To make us not idle in the marketplace of the world.
'othersstanding idle'= unprofitable servant.
Matthew 25:26,30
25:26. "But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
25:30 ‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ - We will not enter the building of Babylon’s body which will perish if we are active in the building of the body of Christ.
- To give us sweet wine that will peak to the marriage supper of the Lamb of God.
We live in the world which is as wilderness full of bitterness. Therefore, we need the sweet wine or heavenly ambience.
20:1. "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
20:2 "Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
20:6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
Actually, there are five kinds of time to work in the vineyard as follows.
- Early in the morning
- 9 a.m.
- 12 at noon
- 3 p.m.
- 5 p.m.
- Early in the morning. It is the main opportunity for the house of Israel or the chosen nation.
The base is the promise of God, namely the wage of one denarius for one day up to eternal life. - At 9 a.m., 12 at noon, and 3 p.m. (the time of Jesus’ crucifixion) = the opportunity to the lost house of Israel (the lost sheep because they transgress the Law).
The base is the love of Jesus on the cross. The house of Israel would have been lost and perished if Jesus had not been crucified.
Matthew 15:24
15:24.But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." - At 5 p.m. = the opportunity for the Gentiles to work in the vineyard.
The base is the mercy and grace of God. It is more than the love!
Romans 11:25
11:25. For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Because a part of the house of Israel has rejected Jesus, so there is opened opportunity for the Gentiles to work in the vineyard or enter the building of the perfect body of Christ.
Thus, the Gentiles can serve and minister to God only because of the mercy and trust of God. Therefore, let us now keep the mercy and trust of God well, so they will never be diverted to others.
If the trust is diverted to other people, we will never return to it. It has happened to Judas Iscariot.
Thus, the Gentiles can work in the vineyard in the system of God’s mercy. We can do nothing outside the mercy of God. The system of God’s mercy is not in carelessness!
We minister in the system of God’s mercy but we cannot do the ministry carelessly, or else we despise the sacrifice of Jesus.
The practice of the system of God’s mercy is as follows.
- Repenting, meaning we stop sinning to return to God.
Romans 2:4
2:4. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
There are six sins that make us divided in the building of the body of Christ as follows.
1 Corinthians 5:11
5:11. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral(1), or covetous(2), or an idolater(3), or a reviler(4), or a drunkard(5), or an extortioner(6)––not even to eat with such a person.
Those are sins that have become flesh and blood in the life of the sons of God, so they cannot be united in the body of Christ as follows.- The sexual immoral = marrying-being given in marrying sin and sexual sin with all its variety up to the false marriage.
- The covetous = one cannot give money, energy, time, up to the whole life.
The first thing we do in the building of Tabernacle is giving.
All things must be sacrificed for the building of the body of Christ but the true teaching Word.
Fellowship without the true teaching Word will only wait for the time of destruction. - The idolater. Idol means all things that hinder us to love God. It includes the talisman.
- The reviler. It means slander, that righteous thing is said as false one and vice versa.
- The drunkard, referring to sins concerning eating-drinking, including smoking, being drunk, and drugs abuse.
- The extortioner or liar.
- The sexual immoral = marrying-being given in marrying sin and sexual sin with all its variety up to the false marriage.
- Not losing heart, meaning we minister in the building of the body of Christ with being strong and of good courage.
2 Corinthians 4:1
4:1. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
Meaning as follows:- not being disappointed,
- not being hopeless,
- not leaving the service and ministry,
- keeping on being faithful and fervent in spirit until the end line, namely we die or Jesus comes a second time,
- keeping on ministering to God according to the true teaching Word as the commander of our ministry.
All things will be in vain if there is no true teaching Word because it is our Head.
- not being disappointed,
- Serving and ministering to God in a reasonable service or true consecration.
Romans 12:1-2
12:1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The signs of the true consecration or reasonable service are as follows.- [Romans 12:1] 'present your bodies'= presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God.
- Living body means being conquered by Holy Spirit, referring to the Golden Candlestick or perseverance in doing General Service.
John 6:63
6:63. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. - Holy body means being ruled by the true teaching Word, referring to the Table of Showbread or perseverance in doing Bible Study Service with Holy Communion.
John 15:3
15:3. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. - Body which is acceptable to God means being conquered by His love, referring to the Golden Altar of Incense or perseverance in doing Prayer Service.
All things are in vain and useless if there is no love.
- Living body means being conquered by Holy Spirit, referring to the Golden Candlestick or perseverance in doing General Service.
- [Romans 12:2] 'be transformed by the renewing of your mind '= experiencing life renewal from carnal man to spiritual one as Jesus is.
Presenting our body through the shepherding, the flesh must be burnt, referring to the renewal through suffering without any sin together with Jesus. Afterwards, we can produce sweet-smelling aroma before God, or else the flesh will produce bad odor and worms.
The flesh that produces bad odor the most is our heart ('the renewing of your mind'). Our heart must be renewed to become obedient one.
As a result, we can discern the false things and the righteous ones, beginning from the teaching.
If we can discern the false teaching with the true one, we will be able also to discern the false ministry and the true one, the false deeds or saying and the true ones.
In such manner, we can live in righteousness and holiness until we are perfect.
Having obedient heart means we lift up our two hands to God, believe, and fully entrust ourselves to Him. We can only say 'It is up to You, Lord.'
Be alert! Lot’s wife perishes because of her disobedience although she looks back only once.
God will stretch His merciful hand to us if we lift up our hand to Him, so we can experience His power.
- Healing power, both for physical disease and spiritual one, so we can have peace in God.
Moreover, God also heals the disease in marriage.
Matthew 8:3
8:3. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. - Exalting power from all failures and decline, so all things become successful and beautiful together with the Lord.
Matthew 14:30-31
14:30.But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
It continues until someday we are exalted on glorious clouds by the power of God’s hand.
- [Romans 12:1] 'present your bodies'= presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God.