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AND MANY WOMEN WERE THERE
Matthew 27:50-56
Sunday Evening Sermon
September 6, 1998
Fair Avenue Baptist Church
Look again at VERSE 55, “And many women were there...”
We are at the crucifixion,
Jesus has died,
The centurion said, “Truly this was the Son of God” (V. 54)
“And many women were there”
My question is, “Where were the men?”
The answer to that question comes from Matt. 26:56, “Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
When Judas came to betray Jesus,
When the soldiers came,
When the arrested our Lord and Saviour,
They all fled,
It says, “ALL.”
“ALL of the disciples forsook him”
They ALL fled.
What a sad statement.
And thank God for the ladies.
There were ladies at the crucifixion,
There were ladies at the burial,
In fact, it was a Mary Magdalene who was first,
Where were the men?
As far as Scripture tells us, John was the only man present at the crucifixion because Jesus talked with him.
John 19:26-27 records the words of our Lord talking to John.
But there are far more references to the women than to the men, in fact, those verses in John 19 are the only ones that identify or talk about any MALE followers of Christ.
These men said they loved the Lord.
They had followed Him for several years.
They had served Him.
They had seen the working of God.
But they forsook Him.
The women were there at the crucifixion,
They were there at the burial place,
They were there.
But where were the men?
I submit you this that men have the same problem today.
Men are just as guilty as they were in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Look around you and you’ll see another fulfillment of Scripture, “And many women were there.”
Where are the men?
There are more women here than men,
There are more teenager girls here than boys,
There are more elementary girls here than boys,
There are more senior citizen women here than men,
Where are the men?
Where are the men Sunday School teachers?
We have far more women volunteers than men,
We have more women who are willing to make the necessary sacrifice to teach a Sunday School class than we do men,
We have more women who are willing to meet the standards for our teachers than we do men,
And many women were there...
And all the disciples forsook Him...
When it comes to doing any kind of work around the church, we have more women who will volunteer than men,
When it comes to doing things around the church, we have more women who will volunteer than men,
Just show up here on a Workday or Worknight and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about,
And many women were there...
And all the disciples forsook Him...
Every Sunday morning,
Every Sunday morning there are women here practicing and getting ready to sing,
Every Sunday evening starting at 8:30 or 8:45 there are women here practicing,
Trying to work hard,
Trying to practice to do a good job singing,
And during 1998,
Probably 29 or 30 out of 31 Sundays this year there have been women here trying to make the Sunday services as good as possible.
Yet, also during 1998,
In the first 8 months of the year,
January through August,
We have announced,
We have published,
We have sent letters,
And guess how many men have come to the Mens Sunday Morning Prayer Meeting?
Did you come?
The women will come week after week to practice singing,
The men stay home instead of praying.
YES, I know that there are four or five men on the bus routes on Sunday morning counting captains and drivers, and Praise the Lord for them, but where are the other men?
And many women were there..
And all the disciples, MEN, forsook Him...
Stay around on Wednesday night and look at the Prayer Meeting crowd,
Look into the auditorium and you’ll find many women here,
Look down the hallway and you’ll find a few men there,
Look outside and you might even find a few men standing around and talking in the parking lot,
The women will stay and pray,
The men go home or talk,
And many women were there...
And all the disciples, MEN, forsook Him...
Now, some of you men will stay two or three hours in a meeting to complain,
And some of you men will show up for a three hour meeting on a Saturday night to find out what the Preacher is going to do,
And won’t stay 20 minutes to pray with your brothers in Christ.
And many women were there..
And all the disciples, MEN, forsook Him...
We have women who will get here 15-20 minutes early, stay 25-30 minutes after,
after working all day herself,
after fixing your supper,
picking up your dirty clothes,
getting the kids ready,
and you’re sitting in the chair,
or piddlin’ around outside,
she gets here early,
and you drag in here a few minutes late.
They volunteer,
They meet the standards,
They come early and stay late,
They teach the classes,
They stay for prayer meetings,
They come to Worknights,
And many women were there..
And all the disciples, MEN, forsook Him...
And most men are not even embarrassed about it,
they just shrug their shoulders and go about their business,
where are the men?
It just doesn’t bother men anymore that their wives are more spiritual than they are.
It just doesn’t bother men anymore that their wives are serving the Lord more.
It just doesn’t bother men anymore that the wives are the spiritual leader in the home.
It wasn’t like that years ago.
Grandpa sat at the head of the table,
Grandpa said the blessing on the food,
Grandpa opened the Bible and read,
Grandpa was the spiritual leader,
Where are the men today?
And many women were there..
And all the disciples, MEN, forsook Him...
Now think with me for a moment,
John came back.
He fled in the Garden,
He forsook the Lord,
He ran away.
But, somewhere he came to realize that he had been wrong.
Somewhere the Holy Spirit of Almighty God spoke to the heart of the Apostle John.
The Scriptures don’t tell us,
We don’t know for sure,
But I have to believe that somewhere John fell to his knees and asked God to forgive him.
How do I know?
Because the man that fled,
The man forsook the Lord,
That same man was standing at the foot of the cross with Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Another man fled,
Another man forsook the Lord,
This other man even cursed that he knew the name of the Lord,
But the Holy Spirit got a hold of his heart,
The Holy Spirit broke the heart of this man,
And his heart was broken
And the Scripture tells us that he wept bitterly.
That man was Peter.
Peter was with John at the empty tomb,
Peter preached the Day of Pentecost, not the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved,
Peter made a comeback.
When just a few weeks earlier he had run from the Lord,
He had fled the scene,
He had forsook the Lord,
He had cursed the name of the Lord,
But he was convicted,
He saw his sin,
He asked forgiveness,
He came back a broken, but better man.
There are some men here this evening and you have let your Saviour down.
There are some men here this evening and you are not the spiritual leader in your home.
There are some men here this evening and you are not faithful to God’s house.
There are some men here this evening and you are not serving the Lord.
You are just like the disciples who fled,
You are just like the disciples who forsook the Lord.
You are just like the disciples who let the women stand true.
And many women were there..
And all the disciples, MEN, forsook Him...
I’m just wondering if there is a John in the crowd,
I’m just wondering if there is a Peter in the crowd,
I’m just wondering if there is a man here this evening who come back to the Lord.
I’m just wondering if there is a man here this evening who will take a stand like a man for the Lord.
Are you the man?
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