Matthew 27:36

And they sat and watched him there.

Throughout the ages these words, so richly suggestive, have made a profound impression on men's minds.

And sitting down, they watched him there, The soldiers did; There, while they played with dice, He made his sacrifice, And died upon the Cross to Rid God's world of sin. He was a gambler too, my Christ, He took his life and threw It for a world redeemed. And ere his agony was done, Before the westering sun went down, Crowning that day with its crimson crown, He knew that he had won![5]

The indifference and oblivious insensibility of his executioners to the magnitude of the deed in which they were incidental participants staggers the imagination. This is a fair example of the attitude of all men who live and die as if Christ had not died for their sins.