476

His own pain did not make Him
forgetful of those He loved. He
spoke first to His mother. He
looked towards John, and said to
her, “Woman, behold thy son.”
Then He spoke to John. He looked

towards Mary, and said, “ Behold |

thy mother.” Jesus was going to
be taken away from His mother.
He knew how sorry she was to lose
Him, and He would not leave her
without comfort. He meant that
John should take care of her, and
be like a son to her, when her own
son was gone. And John under-
stood what his dear master meant.
So he gently took Mary, and led her
away from the cross, and brought
her to his own home, and took care
of her.

It wasnoon. And now a wonder-

ful darkness spread over all the land.
This darkness lasted three hours.
Jesus was still alive; but He did not
speak all that time. He was suf-
ering more than we can under-
stand; more than any mere man
ever could suffer. His body was in
great pain; but this was not His
worst suffering. He was suffering
still more in His soul. Jesus was
dying; dying for sinners. He had
promised His Father to do this:
and His Father was now putting
upon Him the punishment due to
the sins of the world. God had not
forgotten His beloved son; He had
not ceased to love Him; but He did
not smile upon Him, nor comfort
Him now. Jesus was dying in agony,
without any comfort from His hea-
venly Father: this was His worst
suffering; and it made Him cry at
last, In the bitterness of His soul,
“My God, my God! why hast Thou
forsaken me ?”

THE DEATH

 

OF CHRIST.

Then He said again, “I thirsi
So one of the soldiers filled a sponge
with vinegar, and put it to Hig
mouth. When Jesus had received
the vinegar, He said, “ It is finished ;”
and then He cried with a loud voice,
“Father, into Thy hands I com.
mend my spirit;” and He bowed
His head, and gave up the ghost, |

Then the veil which hung before
the holy of holies in the temple,
was torn in two; and the earth
shook, and the rocks rent, and the
graves opened; and the bodies of
many of the saints which slept,
arose. And why was all this? Why
did these wonders happen when
Jesus bowed down His head, and
gave up the ghost? Because Jesus
was God. very thing felt His
power; and every thing trembled
with fear and horror, when wicked
men put to death the Lord of life
and glory. ‘The centurion, and
those who were with him watching
Jesus, felt this, and cried, “ Truly
this was the Son of God.”

What did Jesus mean when He
cried, “It is finished?” He meant
that the great sacrifice was now
offered up, of which all other sacri-
fices were types. Jesus was “the
Lamb of God which taketh away the
sin of the world;” He had died; no
more offerings for sin were needed
now; they were “finished” for
ever. And the work of our salva-
tion was “finished” too. Christ
had died, “the just for the unjust,
that He might bring us unto God.”
1 Peter iii. 18. He had thus made
peace for us with His Father, and
turned away His anger from Us.
Christ has “finished” all this for
us. But when we read the beauti-
ful story of His life and His death,