Well, good morning. Let's open our Bibles to the book of John once again, the Gospel of John. As most of you are aware, I've been working through the Gospel of John recently, and we're encouraged to be in chapter nineteen today, John nineteen. By way of reminder, the book of John speaks much of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, as each of the four gospels have a unique thrust concerning teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we think about him, it's God manifest in the flesh. Uh, one way to outline the book of John is to see six primary movements in the book of John, as it begins with speaking about the person of the Son of God in the first eighteen verses of John one. As you work through the different movements, I'm now looking at, uh, number five, uh, that would speak of the hour of the cross of the Son of God. The hour of the cross of the Son of God. And this would entail particularly, uh, chapters eighteen and nineteen. as you see the events leading up to the cross and the cross of Calvary itself. And so as we, uh, would like to pick up in chapter nineteen, in just a moment there, verse thirty one. Last weekend, I was, uh, doing a conference in New York, and we were looking at the specific details of the cross itself, but I'd like to move further today and look at particularly the burial, as we see following along in chapter nineteen, verse thirty one. You may as well put a finger there and be reminded of this wonderful verse in first Corinthians fifteen, the wonderful resurrection chapter concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll notice a detail there in First Corinthians fifteen and in verse three. For I have delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And so we find his death, his burial, and his resurrection. So we can easily perhaps lose sight of the emphasis on the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are reminded of his death, we're reminded of his resurrection, but yet he both died, was buried, and rose again the third day. And so we think about how, uh, we think of respect and dignity when we think of our loved ones, and we think of, uh, their, their homegoing and, and such, and laying them to rest, as we would say. And so as we look at this specifically concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, there are a few things, perhaps just to keep the flow of the text, that I'll mention before we move into those details, uh, is you find in verses, um, 16, when he was led away to be crucified, on through verse thirty, we see when he would say one of his seven sayings from the cross, it is finished. And from that point, we're going to then study, uh, his burial, verse thirty one. But if you're studying the cross itself, I'm sure you're well aware that you must compare all four gospels to find the details of the cross work of the Lord Jesus in association with the prophetic passages said of him, such as Isaiah fifty three. And so we see great detail concerning the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. But it is interesting to notice in another gospel that upon the time when he would say, it is finished, and we, we see where he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, that these final sayings from the cross. There were unique events that followed, and we would need to turn to Matthew to note those, but if you're taking note, in Matthew twenty seven, there are unique and miraculous events that followed his death. And so we see how the veil was rent in twain. You see, you think of the, the veil that was there in the temple, and as you think back in the tabernacle and such, and how that veil was rent in twain. Only the high priest could go behind that veil on the Day of Atonement. And yet now the Lord Jesus, our great high priest, has said it is finished. And now we see not from what man could do, but from Godward, from top to bottom, the veil was rent in twain. So we see that in itself is a beautiful study, as we think about the changes that that in s- in a sense represented, the change of a new dispensation. Uh, just weeks later, we see the beginning of the church age. We see a change of covenant, as one of our brethren read in remembrance this morning in Hebrews nine. We see in reference to his blood and that New Testament in his blood. And we think of also in Hebrews ten, where because that veil has been rent in twain, instead of in, as in the Old Testament, when God says, do not go in at all times, lest you die, well, now the veil's rent, and now we see that we that know him, we have a change of access. We have access at all times into the presence of God if we trust and know his son, the Lord Jesus. All the changes that were, that occurred because of his death on the cross. And so we see these things as well. There was an earthquake that occurred at this time. We see that, uh, that centurion made that wonderful statement, truly this man was the Son of God. And we see these things that he acknowledged, certainly this was a righteous man. And so we, we see as well, there was that unique passage in Matthew twenty seven where some of the, uh, dead saints were found walking around in the city, and there we see those that appear, perhaps as a testimony. And so we think of those unique events. Now we come to our text in John nineteen thirty one. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day. But sought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the first and of the other that was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again, another scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they pierced. So we stop there for a moment. As we notice early on, it, it speaks of a bone of him shall not be broken. And the connection with that, back in thirty one, we're acknowledging here that this was a time of preparation, so the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day. Where do we see that in scripture? Let's put a finger there, and let's think about Deuteronomy for a moment. Go to Deuteronomy, please, chapter twenty one. Deuteronomy twenty one. As we look back into the books of Moses, and we see the days of economy of Israel, we find in Deuteronomy twenty one, it speaks of a rebellious son, verse eighteen. And as we think of a rebellious son, keep in the back of your mind, we are studying the one, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the very opposite, the most obedient son, the perfect eternal son of God, God manifest in the flesh. Yes, the obedient one. As you, when you study Mark and the servant songs of Isaiah, you're reminded there of how he was the one who did the Father's perfect will, the perfect servant as well. But here in twenty one eighteen, it speaks about if a man have a stubborn and rebellious son which will not obey the voice of his father or voice of his mother, and it will not hearken and chasten him. And then saith his father and mother, lay hold on him and bring him out into the elders of the city and to the gate of his place. And they shall say to the elders of his city, this our son is stubborn and rebellious and will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard, and all the men of the city shall stone him with stones that he die, so that thou put away evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. And if a man, verse twenty two, have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shall in any wise bury him that day, for he that is hanged is accursed of God, that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for inheritance. And so it speaks about a rebellious son, one being hung upon a tree, and yet that he would not stay upon that tree. Just briefly, I think about the Lord Jesus Christ. We, we turn in the New Testament to Galatians chapter three in connection, and we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was made a curse for us. Galatians three, we're reminded, verse eleven, but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith, and the law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. The Lord Jesus was willing and able to pay for your sins and mine, made a curse for us. He hung upon that tree, but as we see in our text, if you're with me still in John nineteen, the Jews, of course, as you're reading through these passages, they wanted to see this one put to death, but they wanted, in a sense, to pass it on. They they went to Pilate and said, well, you know, this is what we need. We need you to put him to death. And Pilate, if you study those, uh, trials, as it were, back and forth between him and Herod and back to Pilate, he would say, I find no fault in him. His own wife would say, you have nothing to do with this man, I had a dream about him, and so on. And yet they pushed and they pushed, and he finally said, well, behold your king. They didn't like that at all. He's not our king. And yet we see now he has been crucified. And so the Jews, in a bit of their hypocrisy, they still want to carry on with their religion and do that which would, would seem appropriate to them. And so with this, uh, they besought Pilate, verse thirty one, uh, that their legs might be broken. This would be a way of hastening death, to break their legs after all that had been done in crucifixion. And yet, as we see, there was a divine providence at hand that would not allow this of our Lord Jesus. We see, as we read in here, that, uh, when they came to him, uh, dead, he was dead already, and they break not his legs. But when we think of this, let's, let's think about how the scripture had spoken of these very things. We'll notice that in a few moments. But in verse thirty four, it also speaks about how he was pierced in his side. Later on, when you, uh, look at the post-resurrection ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, uh, we're going to think about that one Thomas and how he was not there when the Lord showed up there at the upper room the first time, and he said, I won't believe. You know, that's in chapter twenty and in in verse twenty seven on. He, and we see that at that point, he is present eight days later, and he believes, he sees the pierced one, the Lord Jesus. So this one, the Lord Jesus, his side is pierced, but not a bone of him was broken. One of the many things that was said centuries before in the Old Testament, in prophecy about the Lord Jesus. If you're here, if you're listening to this message and you have doubt about, could this really be the Messiah? Could this really be the one that died for my sins? Could this be the one that could die for the sins of everyone? And you look at all the prophecies that was said hundreds of years before, and how virtually impossible it would be that in one man, that the timing and the place and the events and all the things that God prophesied a- ahead of could be fulfilled in one man. The right place, the right time, the right events. As again, in remembrance of the Lord this morning, talking about the one perfect, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we think of, uh, the flow of what we have read, we even noticed there that John, in verse thirty five uh, speaks of bearing record. That's a theme that's sprinkled through the book of John, and as you look at the other writings of John, talking about bearing record, testifying. And John would say in the beginning of First John about having seen and looked upon and hands have handled. Oh, he could testify he was there. And so he's one testifying, uh, here. So he kind of alludes to himself here. John, once again, seems to conceal himself sometimes when he's, uh, write- writing according to the leading of the Spirit. Other times he would speak of himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. But he's bearing record concerning this one, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so let's think a little bit about some scriptures, as you see the phrase here, that the scripture might be fulfilled. That the scripture might be fulfilled. I'm going to go back in, in some portions of John and compare it to the Old Testament. Back in chapter thirteen, in John thirteen, and here it would be the previous movement of the six movements of the book of John. Uh, here we would see the upper room ministry from chapters thirteen to sixteen and including the high priestly prayer we, we heard referenced this morning. We see that fourth movement of the book of John. And as he's teaching the disciples, there are the, the twelve, and yet Judas Iscariot, the one that would betray him, is told to go ahead and leave and do his thing quickly, and then the Lord would teach the, the other eleven. And in this, in this section of verse eighteen, I speak not of you all, I know whom I've chosen, but that the scripture might be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. So there he's acknowledging that one he's going to tell to leave, Judas Iscariot. So with this across in chapter seventeen, is we were reminded this morning about the his high priestly prayer, how he the the Lord Jesus spoke to the Father, and he prayed for himself, and he prayed for the disciples, and he prayed for the believers to come. And in that, he acknowledges again this one. So in seventeen twelve, While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name that thou, uh, gavest me, I have kept or guarded, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. So even with this man Judas, as we go back in the Old Testament, we see these things spoken of ahead of time, we're reminded of how clear and dependable the word of God is. So I'm going to just for a moment go back to the book of Psalms. Psalm forty one. I'm going to think of the messianic Psalms on some of these portions we may look at today. Psalm forty one. When we say messianic, we think of passages in the Psalms that remind us of the Lord or events around the Lord Jesus. And in Psalm m forty one, excuse me, verse nine, Yea, my own familiar friend in whom I've trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. There we find Judas, the betrayer. Moreover, we could go to Psalm one o nine. Psalm one o nine as well, and we're reminded of, of things surrounding these events. One o in verse eight. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. And it goes on, uh, speaking of these matters, but we find connecting in Acts one there, of course, he would be replaced after the Lord ascended back to glory. So we're reminded here of the scriptures that they might be fulfilled. While you're in Psalms, let's think of yet another connection. Please go to Messianic Psalm 22. This as well would tie in with what we find in the study of John. If you were still in John, uh, further down, there's the reference of, uh, excuse me, earlier in John nineteen in previous study, where it spoke of his garments being parted. As you remember him, uh, being, uh, uh, eventually led to the cross and, and how ones mocked him and reviled him and spat upon him, and they took his garments and parted them. You think about, sometimes it comes into songs that we sing about the, the Lord Jesus in his humility had nothing, uh, but a place just to lay his head. Well, he, there was his garments. What earthly possessions did he have? He, you know, the one who in a sense owns the cattle on a thousand hills, eh, the creator of all. And all he had with him was his garments. In humility, he came to serve. And so they use that as a way of mocking him, putting on that, that, uh, uh, sp- that, uh, in his hand, as it were, to mock him as a king, and that, that robe upon him. But in Psalm twenty two, verse eighteen, it begins the chapter by saying, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? That's one of the seven sayings, the middle of the seven sayings. You see his first saying, he said, Father. And then his last saying, he began with Father. But in the midst he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We think of the three hours of darkness he endured on the cross of Calvary for you and me. But in this same passage, twenty two eighteen, as we see, uh, descriptions in the middle of this passage, uh, it's kind of using analogies, talking about, uh, different animals like bulls and, and, um, and, and different e- examples of what he endured, of how ones came about him, and, uh, for the dogs have compassed about me and so on. Verse eighteen, they parted my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. This is what happened in John nineteen twenty four. And so as we think of that the scripture might be fulfilled, comparing Old Testament hundreds of years before, and yet we see clearly happening to our, our Savior. In our text, we see in, in nineteen thirty four, his, his side was pierced, and we go on and we read about how not a bone of him would be broken. If you're still in Psalm, go to Psalm thirty four. Psalm thirty four, verse eight talks about the wonderful things. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Do you know him today as your Lord and Savior? Do you know him as that which is good? Have you tasted him and seen the truth of the gospel through him and know that he is good? And see that, as you move on down, we're going to see this acknowledgement, verse eighteen, as we see contrast between the righteous and the wicked, and we are reminded of our Savior when we read this. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of broken heart, and save such, uh, to be as a contrite spirit. But many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of, out of them all. Verse twenty, he keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. And so we think of the Lord Jesus, the truly righteous one, the one who knew no sin, the one who did no sin, and in him is no sin. And yet, to the very minutest detail, when it came time to break his bones like the other thieves, uh, the r- those that were thieves that were beside him, it didn't happen to the one in the center cross. The one who was righteous truly. The one that the scripture had said, a bone of him would not be broken. And so with this, uh, we, we think as well in that section of John, it talked about how they looked upon him whom they have pierced. So with this, let's, uh, let's go to the book of Zechariah, please. Zechariah, there at the end of the Old Testament. Another prophet, not as long as Isaiah, but rich in messianic prophecies. Here in Zechariah twelve, there are various prophecies in Zechariah that speak about him in his first coming. Also speaking of him when he comes back in power and great glory, such as when you go to the last chapter of Zechariah. And so we find yet more prophecy, hundreds of years before he came. And so, one we find here in chapter twelve of Zechariah, verse ten. and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications, and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. And so we think about how they shall look upon him whom they have pierced. Here in Zechariah, notice that pronoun, they shall look upon me. So when we compare Old and New Testament, we're of a surety that this one, the Lord Jesus Christ, is deity. They shall look upon me. So we think of the fulfillment of scripture. Let's go back to our main text now, John nineteen. And we pick up in our reading there at verse thirty eight. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for the fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave, and he came therefore and took the body of Jesus. So we're reminded here of this man, Joseph, and the importance as we move into this section of his burial. You know, in Israel, we see ones wrapped in, in linen. We think in Egypt there was those embalmed. You can see evidence of some of the, the pagan nations would, would burn the- their, their dead and such. So you see different situations going on. And yet, when we look here at the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only verse thirty eight with this Joseph of Arimathea, but also verse thirty nine, there's Nicodemus. Remember Nicodemus from John three? The one that was a teacher of the Jews, and he wanted a private audience with the Lord Jesus, and he came to him at night, and the Lord gave him this ex- this example about being born again, and Nicodemus was thinking physical. Well, how can a man go back into his mother's womb and be born again? And he taught him a wonderful spiritual truth that he needed to be born again spiritually. He needed to be born from above. He needed to be regenerated. And he told Nicodemus, unless you're born again, you will not see nor enter the kingdom of God. So here's Nicodemus. Well, Nicodemus is seen again in the middle of John, i- along the way during one of the movements of John when we, uh, considered the opposition to the Son of God, those many chapters, five through chapter twelve, where we see those that would oppose the Lord Jesus. There in chapter seven, he went up to one of the feast days. He went up to the Feast of Tabernacles. Uh, and in doing so, in that chapter seven, verse fifty, it says, Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, and it goes on, uh, his little dialogue there. So we see Nicodemus being one of them, and now we see him in association with this Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea. And it's important to bring this to bear because one of the beautiful pictures we have here is that after the death of Christ, we only see clean hands handling him. And what do we mean by that? Those that had professed faith in him. Look throughout the Gospels, look throughout John and how both the Lord Jesus would talk to his own, like the disciples and such, but he would also speak clearly to the world. He would speak to the lost. He would clarify to them. He would speak clearly of things concerning himself and the gospel, and he would reach out to a lost and dying world. Look at John, all the I ams. I am the bread of life. I'm the light of the world. I'm the resurrection and the life. I'm the true vine. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the way, the truth, and the life. He would go on about the I ams, not only showing his deity, associating himself with that, that one that spoke as the I am out of the burning bush centuries ago to Moses in Exodus three, but in doing so, he would speak about their need to follow him, to receive him as their savior. I am the light of the world, and so on. And so this one, the Lord Jesus Christ, we see him speaking to the world and to, to the multitudes, and yet to those that would follow him. But after his death, we only see clean hands handling him. Only those that w- was that, uh, followed him and believed and trusted in him. We see this one Joseph, and we see this one Nicodemus. In connection with that, just quickly, I'll back up a few pages to Luke twenty three, and we read a little bit more detail about this one Joseph. If you're taking note, Luke twenty three fifty: And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor, and he was a good man and a just. The same had not consented to the counsel indeed of them, and was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. So then we get into the verses that talk about how they prepared his body and such. So we find these ones, Joseph, and we find Nicodemus, but as well, we go on and we think about, uh, others. Uh, we could stay there in, um, i- in Luke twenty three for a moment, and we see it, the mention of, uh, of s- some of the women, verse fifty five, uh, that came with him from Galilee, followed after him. We see them in connection with the preparation and the care of the body of the Lord Jesus as he was buried. So with this, let's think other- others that were around him after his death. If we fast forward a little bit, this would be more like John twenty and twenty one, and you look at his post-resurrection ministry from the middle of chapter twenty, when you see he's resurrected, and you look at the ones that he interacted with. That's a wonderful study. You could look between the gospels, at least seven events that show the Lord Jesus in conjunction with the ones that believe and how he ministered to them. So once again, in connection with those that believe. We see, for example, in John twenty, there was that one Mary that didn't recognize him, but when he spoke her name, she needed comfort. She knew who it was when he said Mary. He went on to the upper room, and and there were, uh, the eleven. Judas, of course, had hung himself, and but there were actually ten. Thomas was absent, and he spoke to them. He strengthened the fearful. They were afraid of the, those that may come after them now that Jesus had been crucified. So he strengthened the fearful. Eight days later, there was Thomas now. Uh, there he was re- helping, uh, the doubter. There was Thomas, and Thomas said, my Lord and my God, he saw the nail prints. And then there was those two on the road to Emmaus. They didn't recognize him at first either, and he went through and spoke to them about things concerning himself from the books of Moses and from the books, the Psalms, the poetic books, and the prophets from the Old Testament. He went through and talked about truths concerning himself, and he was revealed to them. And then there were those that held him at his feet, and they worshipped him back in Matthew twenty, uh, eight, I believe, and and they held him at his feet, and they worshipped. And then we see back in in, uh, John, there was Peter. Oh, he was fishing with a few of the others, caught nothing. The Lord, you know, gave him some instruction from the shore, and they they brought in a bunch of fish, and they said, well, this is the Lord. And Peter couldn't wait. He put on his clothes, and he he just had to get to the shore. Because remember, Peter, he didn't do like Judas, he didn't betray him, but he denied him in fulfillment of scripture. And then when he denied him, he eventually caught the eye of the Lord, he went out and wept bitterly. But now the Lord's there on the shore. Peter couldn't wait, he went to him. Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep. Peter, do you love me? Three times. And so we see him there restoring the backslider. So what a study to look at what he did there in his post-resurrection ministry with those who loved him. So when we think about his burial and those who handled him and who he interacted with from that point on until he ascended back to glory, words of encouragement. And so notice now in our last part of the study, we'll notice picking up in verse, uh, thirty nine. And there came also Nicodemus, which was the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes and a hundred pound weight. They- then took they the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices as manners of the Jews is to bury. Now is the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. In the garden, a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore, because the Jews preparation day for the sepulcher was nigh at hand. So in these last verses, we find what was brought. We find here a mixture of myrrh and alloys. We see spices. I'm going to go back to a Messianic psalm again, if you're with me. Let's go to Psalm forty five this time. Psalm forty five. There's like a dozen and a half minute Messianic psalms. So when you come to chapter forty five, we're thinking about what was brought to the Lord. Myrrh, alloys, spices, gifts and and such, as you look at different situations in the Gospels that were brought to the Lord. You go back to his birth and on. And these remind us of times of worship. Bringing gifts to the Lord, bringing, uh, things, uh, as it were, that were costly or weighty or, uh, aromatic, and we see a reminder of worship. What can we bring to the Lord? Oh, we can't do anything to obtain his mercy and his grace. We can't do anything to be saved. But once we know him, once we're one of his, then we can worship him. And so we see in conjunction what we've already seen. Who was around him once he gave up the ghost, once he said it is finished? Who handled him? We that know him can worship him. So this Messianic Psalm forty five and, uh, verse eight— we- verse six, we see the mention of the throne of God, and- and one of the- the Psalms here is, and there are others that remind us of him as king. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell as myrrh and alloys and cassia out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad. And so we think of these, uh, things of c- that are costly or aromic or weighty, you might say, value to them. And we're reminded of the beauty of our Lord and how we can worship him. Just, uh, along the way, we could think about in back in the New Testament of how that in in Matthew two eleven, uh, there at his birth, and we see, uh, following his birth, we see ones that came, and they fell down before him. They opened their treasures. We see gold and frankincense and myrrh. We see there before his triumphal entry there in John twelve, This is right after the Lord announcing, I am the resurrection of life, when he raised Lazarus from the dead. The beginning of the next chapter, who is found at the table of the Lord? Lazarus. Eating with the Lord, fellowshipping with the Lord. He that had been dead was now alive. What a picture of us in our position in Christ. Once we that were dead in trespasses and sin, now that we're saved, we're seated at the table of the Lord. So there we see Lazarus, one of his sisters then, of course, we find her, uh, there before him, uh, with that which is very costly, uh, with her own glory, her own hair, uh, there at the feet of the Lord. The house was filled with odor. Reminder of worship. They were worshiping the one that had raised their brother from the dead. We think also, as we read earlier in Luke twenty three, about the women that were there in connection with the burial, there it mentioned spices and ointments also. But with all this, you know, even the Old Testament can bring our minds to this. Back to that book of intimacies of Song of Solomon, as we think of, of the king and his bride and so on, the bride and the bridegroom, and the wonderful pictures that Song of Solomon brings to us. It talks in terms, uh, there with alloys and frankincense and spicener and myrrh and such. That wonderful reminder of our wonderful Savior. And then we think of the, the offerings in the Old Testament economy in Leviticus. Remember how the Old Testament offerings, they offered up blood sacrifices looking toward the cross because it was one right after another, right after another. The blood of bulls and goats could not ever take away sin permanently. You couldn't do it until that one sacrifice, the Lord Jesus. But back in these offerings, amongst those offerings, there was one that was without blood, and that was called the meal offering. And that was a picture of Christ as the perfect man. Each of those offerings represented Christ in a unique way, just like the each of the gospels has a unique perspective upon Christ. These different offerings, like the burnt offering and the peace offering and the sin offering, the trespass offering, they were blood sacrifices, and they pointed to Christ as well. But when we think of the meal offering, there was not a, a blood sacrifice. We see that which would be bacon in a grill or in an oven. And the ingredients of that particular offering would represent the perfections of Christ, and there you would see things such as frankincense and the beauty of that God man, that perfect man that died for our sins. So we think of all these things that remind us of his beauty. One more, we think in the tabernacle, back in Exodus thirty, and you think of the perfume and the anointing oil, i- i- and how, uh, these things remind us of our relationship with him, worshiping the one that's so beautiful, so wonderful, so perfect. With that, let's look at our last verses here in John nineteen. And by the way, while you're turning there, may we be reminded of what this means for us as far as worshiping him. You remember there are New Testament sacrifices, not like the old, and there was to be the death of animals and s- and blood sacrifices, but in the New Testament, the believer is called a holy and royal priest. And we, our sacrifices, one of them, there's a, there's a stud- a study upon different sacrifices the New Testament believer makes, but one of them is worship and praise by the fruit of our lips. And so we think of the, these things that have been reminding us of his beauty, the spices in the ointment, and all of these wonderful reminders. Hebrews tells us, by him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. Oh, we are able to worship him because what, what he has done for us. We're also reminded about how we're lively stones built up a spiritual house and a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Do you know him today? If so, you can offer up spiritual sacrifices. You can praise him, you can worship him. We can remember him because we are one of his own. You know, you can't remember him in a true sense of what that means if you're not saved. You might know about him, you might know the details that he died on the cross for the world, but do you know, as Paul said in Galatians two twenty, he loved me and gave himself for me. Is it not that he just died for the world, but do you know that he died for you, for me? Is it? So at the end of our text, as we're reminded here of him, the Lord Jesus, being laid in this new tomb. Once again, the Old Testament verifies this in that wonderful text of Isaiah fifty three that talks so clearly and graphically about the details of the cross, some seven hundred years before he was here on earth. Isaiah fifty three was so clear, speaking of the one who was wounded for our transgressions, who was bruised for our iniquities. That same passage would speak of him in his death, in his grave. Isaiah fifty three nine, and he was, and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. You see, this one, the Lord Jesus Christ, was laid in this new tomb where never man had yet laid. Again, thinking about not only clean hands, but a clean tomb, you might say, no defilement in connection with our blessed Lord. We have a wonderful Savior. He has done a wonderful work that we might have a wonderful salvation. Do you know him today? With that, let's look to the Lord in prayer. I'd ask if one of the brothers would close us in prayer.