Peter Brandon emphasizes the significance of Christ's finished work on the cross, highlighting three key aspects: the finished work, the fragrance of that work, and the fruit it bears. He explains how Jesus' death tore the veil of the temple, symbolizing the removal of barriers between God and humanity, and how it opened the way for both Jews and Gentiles to enter into a relationship with God. The sermon also reflects on the supernatural elements of Christ's death, the power of the Gospel, and the hope of resurrection for believers, encouraging the congregation to live in constant awareness of God's presence and to be prepared for Christ's return.

Three things the Lord has been laying on our hearts, the finished work, the fragrance of the work, and now the fruit of the work. Matthew 27, and we'll read from verse 50. Matthew 27, reading from verse 50. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God. The death of the Lord Jesus was unnatural in the sense that he was totally sinless, and sin is the result of death, and therefore in himself he was completely exempt from death. Therefore the scripture says he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. For us, apart from the rapture, death is a necessity. But for the Lord Jesus, he became obedient unto death, a willing sacrifice. We've heard from the prayers that his death was supernatural. The bowing of the head, the crying with a loud voice, the expiring of his spirit, all shows that in the death of Christ there was that element of the supernatural. But immediately he dies, we see the fruit of his death, and the fruit of his death as seen here is the epitome of the whole scripture. For instance, the veil being rent, the exposition of that is in the Hebrews. The earthquake and the rocks renting, the epistle of the Romans, gives us the true meaning of that. Again you will find a Gentile believing, and therefore if you look at the Ephesians, that is the secret of it, both Jew and Gentile are brought into the kingdom of God. And then when you come to the graves being opened, that's the great secret of the Thessalonians 1 and 2, and the revelation, the coming of the Lord Jesus. So in the fruit of the cross, we see the summary of the New Testament. The veil being rent, think of it. The high priest could go into the holy place only once, and that was on the day of atonement. Even when the daily offerings were being offered, the veil was there, showing that there was a division between man and God. But when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, it must have been a dramatic moment for the priests, who were ministering at that moment in the holy place, to hear a crack, and then to see a curtain being torn from the top to the bottom. And for the first time, they look right into the holiest of all. Now what is the holiest now? Is it a little place that we can measure by cubic feet? Certainly not. The holiest is heaven itself, and that's the place we're in now. What is the holiest like? It's called the Zion of God, the city of God. That speaks of the activity of the Spirit. That speaks of the total sovereignty of the Lord. And therefore, at this moment, it is, in His presence, the activity of the Spirit and the control of the Lord. And then it's called the heavenly Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place of worship. Therefore, at this moment, we're in that sphere where there is constant worship going up to God. And what a pleasure it is for God to hear His people worshipping Him. And then there's an innumerable company of angels. If you look at it carefully, it's angels in festal joy. Why? They're rejoicing in the finished work of Christ. And isn't it wonderful this morning to be conscious that we're in the presence of angels. That's one of the reasons why our sisters are governed. Because of the angels. And then He tells us the General Assembly. Now what is that? It's not the Church of Scotland, it's much more than that. The General Assembly incorporates all the redeemed from the time of Adam right to the conclusion of the ages. And then the Church of the Firstborn. That's the unique company. And we bow our heads in humility to think that we are brought into that state of the Church of the Firstborn. Immediately our minds centre on the holiest. There is no idea of sectarianism. There's not little companies there. The whole Church is seen in all its glorious completeness. And isn't it lovely this morning that that one loaf not only speaks of His body given, it speaks of the body of Christ. And each morning we express that one glorious fact. There is one body. And then you will notice He goes on. The judge of all. What does that mean? Now when we worship, God doesn't judge the worship by our eloquence or our knowledge of scripture. He judges our worship according to the fact that it comes from the Spirit. One man may stand up and give a wonderful oration. Another person might get up and just give three words of simple praise. But God judges not so much the content. He judges what comes from the heart. Isn't that wonderful when we worship? And then we read this. And I love this little expression. Best of all, the mediator of the new covenant. The Lord is there. And the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of the blood of ables that cried out for vengeance. What a lovely place to be in the holiest. Now, brethren and sisters, when we rightly understand the Hebrew epistle, we shall never say, Lord, we come into thy presence. Why? Because we're never out of it. Dear sister, when you go home and you're cooking that meal, you're still in the holiest. When we're around the table eating the meal, we're still in the holiest. When some of you brethren are at work and probably the job is tedious, you're in the holiest. You see, we come in through the blood. And really, when we rightly understand the epistle to the Hebrews, we're constantly living in the presence of God. Thank God for the rent there. Then you will notice that the earthquakes and the rocks rent. Now, what's the key word to the Romans? I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. Now, we know that the word power has two meanings. First of all, it can mean authority. But the word in Romans doesn't refer to authority. It refers to the word dynamite. Power. Now, here's the power. We've seen the Saviour on the cross. Now, let's look at the effects of it. The earth is quaking. Now, sometimes when they prayed there was an earthquake, that speaks of the power of prayer. In the Revelation, there are four earthquakes and that speaks of the power of judgment. But this isn't the power of prayer. This isn't the power of judgment. Beloved, it's the power of divine love. The power of Calvary. Now, let's take a step back and look. A hundred million souls have been saved in China over the last thirty years. An earthquake. Thousands are being saved in India. An earthquake. Thousands upon thousands are being saved in the Far East. An earthquake. An earthquake. And we shall hear this afternoon, thousands are being saved behind the old-fashioned iron curtains. An earthquake. Because of the cross. Isn't that wonderful? And then the rocks rend. What does that mean? Ezekiel says he will take away the heart of stone and give us the heart of flesh. Now could we all go back to the moment we were saved? And what broke our hearts? The fiery judgment? No. What was it that broke our hearts? It was the cross of Christ. It smashed the hard rock of our hearts to pieces. And we were broken. And beloved, every time we break that bread our hearts should be broken. Because of his overwhelming love for us. The rocks were rend. And then a Gentile believed, I love this. The first man to be saved was the penitent Malefactor. And what a mighty revelation he got in his dying moments. The second man to be saved was the centurion who was a Gentile. Therefore two barriers are now removed. First of all the sin barrier goes with the rending of the veil. And secondly the social barrier goes through the cross. And therefore the cross abolishes every form of barrier. And the baptism of the spirit binds us all together. And isn't that lovely? Through the cross the barriers are broken. Through the baptism of the spirit we are one in the Lord Jesus. Now could I say this in love to the local church? Never become a local church that is made up of cliques. Always have a love for all God's people. And if you can beloved, invite them to your home for a meal. For that's the best way to get to know people. Don't have little groups. Have a large heart for all God's people. The curtain removed the sin barrier. The cross removed the social barrier. And then last of all the graves were opened. I love this. And it's only Matthew that tells us that many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many. Now could I ask for a little help please? If there's a brother or a sister who knows the people who went into the holy city I should be very pleased if you would inform me. We are not told. But it was a miniature rapture. Or perhaps I should be more correct. A miniature second coming. You see when the Lord comes as King of Kings and Lord of Lords the graves will be opened. And those who were killed and martyred and died in the tribulation they're going to be raised to see his coming. But for us it's far better. There's coming a moment beloved when we shall hear the shout. We shall hear the voice of the archangel. We shall hear the trump of God. And when we hear that shout he'll probably call us by name. The dead in Christ shall rise first. What a company. Think of it. All those from Pentecost right to the time of the Lord's coming are all going to be raised. What a moment of glory. The dead in Christ shall rise first. And we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And then the whole church will be complete. And we shall surround the Lord Jesus. What a moment. You know I was reading Shackleton the other day. And I got a wonderful illustration. When he landed his men on the pole foolishly hadn't got enough food for them. So very quickly he took his boat to get some provisions. But when he went the ice came and they were enclosed. And that man Shackleton got the provisions and he waited on the edge of the ice. And one day there was a freak wind. And there was a change in the temperature. And the ice started to melt. And there was a little valley made. And he took his boat in. And he knew he only had an hour to pick up those men and get out. And when he got in they were all ready. And they were on the boat and out. And just as he was leaving he could see the ice enclosing upon them. And as he was at the wheel of the ship he said to the men that were around him how is it that you are all ready? Well he said the lieutenant that you left said to us every day boys pack up your sleeping bags. The master might be here today. And that morning we packed up our sleeping bags. And we were all ready. Beloved let's pack up our sleeping bags. The Lord might be here today. And let's all look for his coming. And let's all be ready going up saying even so come Lord Jesus. Amen.