We must be warned too, because – terrible thing though it is – God may deal with us in that way. If you have been moved by the things of Christ, if you have been moved to repent of your sin, if you have grasped Christ and what he has done on Calvary and seen these precious, precious things and you reject him, and you do it again and again and live for this world and for yourself, there could come a time when you will never feel again any grace, any inclination, any drawing to Christ. Be careful! You can’t go on for ever resisting the wonderful lovingkindness and the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. We see here an example of people who are hardened beyond redemption. Some were saved among them; others had gone much too far, it would appear.
In his own way, in his own time, that's exactly what he did. He died. He finished the work. He took the punishment. He yielded up the Holy Spirit. He tasted – that is a good word – death, and on the third day he shattered its chains, and broke its bands. He rose from the dead, and appeared to men, and ascended into heaven. He afterwards demonstrated he was alive by the mighty power that he gave to the apostles, and the bringing about of the New Testament church on the day of Pentecost. In his own way, in his own time, having accomplished the work, you might say, he came down from the cross and he lived. Thousands of them did believe, but by no means all. Three thousand on the day of Pentecost, five thousand soon afterwards, many others in a long train after that. Then the gospel went to the Gentiles, and they began to flood in, and the church was extended and travelled across the known world. He did exactly what they said, to demonstrate that he was the Prince of life. The double sense runs through even the events.