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22 Feb:
The Final Words of the Lord on the Cross:
John 19:30 “….It Is Finished!
And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
Last week we looked at Jesus’ first statement while hanging on the cross and determined that it was “amazing” what Jesus said – but it was not SURPRISING! It was a prayer of forgiveness for those responsible for what was happening.
And maybe I should repeat here that WE are as responsible for His crucifixion as those on the ground that day:
1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”
1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God”.
1 Cor 15:3 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures”.
Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
In last week’s summary I suggested that Jesus has given us an example of love and forgiveness to follow: Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wished to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” Luke 6:27,28 “But I say to you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.’”
Luke 24:38-43 (paraphrased) “Now placed above Jesus was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ One of the criminals hanging at His side was hurling abuse at Him saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other one answered: ‘Do you not fear God, being at the same sentence of condemnation?’ And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’”
You will notice that both criminals asked the Lord to save them. The Lord’s cross was placed between them, and they each had the same opportunity to see the plaque placed on Christ’s cross declaring that He was the King of the Jews. They both could hear the soldiers challenging Jesus to save Himself and prove that He was the Son of God. They also both could have heard the prayer that Jesus offered up asking the Father to forgive.
One of the criminals took up that challenge of Sonship and the other criminal accepted it as fact – he believed. One criminal will stand condemned on judgement day just as he was hanging in condemnation. The other criminal will hand in condemnation until he dies but he will then find life with the Lord.
What is interesting is that if Jesus would have come down off that cross to save Himself and the other criminals then all of mankind would find themselves in the place of Jesus - condemned on judgement day.
So, Jesus is hanging on that cross at yet another crossroad – do I save Myself or do I save God’s creation???? Thankfully Jesus chose to continue and finish His sentence of death for the sake of us all! Doing so ensured that you and I will also see Jesus in Paradise and ultimately find ourselves in heaven at the right hand of God with our Savior.
James 1:12 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Romans 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
Revelation 3:21 “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with Me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne.”
Are not these words in Revelations reminiscent of Jesus’ words regarding our taking up our cross and following Him. And when we do – we will receive the same reward this criminal and Jesus Himself receives – acceptance into the presence of God.
And what was it that rewarded this criminal with Paradise? It would seem that he is the only one at this moment who truly gets the idea that Jesus was not on this cross because of any wrongdoing or sin on His part. This man understands Jesus was innocent and He is who He claimed to be – the Son of God.
So, whose prayer is answered with the affirmative?
- The haughty criminal or the humble soul?
- That of the Pharisee or the publican?
- The repentant prodigal or proudful elder son?
- The faithful Able or the faithless Cain?
In the course of living our lives we need to ensure that our hearts are humble and appreciative. We need to make sure that we are taking up our cross and are living a crucified life: Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
There are simply too many passages to address at this moment which illustrate to us that it is our faith which saves us and our actions which bear out that faith in obedience. James tells us that our works show our faith and the parables of the one talent man with the goats and the Sower illustrate an unproductive life leads to eternal death.
So, in wrapping this up, let us make sure that our lives reflect a believing, faithful and obedient life in order to ensure that our eternity will be spent with our Lord and Father in heaven.
15 Feb:
The Final Words of the Lord on the Cross
John 19:30 “…. It is finished!
And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
If you get on the internet, you can find several documents about people’s final words: some famous, some infamous, deep and insightful. Here is brief, a very brief excerpt:
Sir Winston Churchill’s last words were, “I’m bored with it all.” Honest.
When Groucho Marx was dying, he let out one last quip: “This is no way to live!” Truthful.
Murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah and asked if he had a last request. He replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.” Very smart.
Johnny Ace, an R&B singer, died in 1954 while playing with a pistol during a break in his concert set. His last words were, “I’ll show you that it won’t shoot.” Wrong!
John Wayne died at age 72 in L.A. He turned to his wife and said, “Of course I know who you are. You’re my girl. I love you.” Endearing!
There are a lot of final words with truth, insight, good advice, funny, sad, angry and so on. But if we are interested in some final words that might have an impact on our lives we should look no further than what the New Testament records regarding Jesus’ final words that He uttered on the cross.
Before we get to His words on the cross, we should look at what preceded that event.
Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.”
Jesus clearly submitted to what was to come. In the Garden He prayed that these events would be by-passed, but, realizing what God’ s will was, He submitted to God’s plan of sacrifice and redemption:
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Colossians 1:13-14 “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:12 “He did not enter by the means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all – by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”
God’s plan of redemption for mankind required the blood of a sinless sacrifice which is what Christ provided for us. We should be eternally thankful for Christ’s love and sacrifice. But over and beyond this we can also be thankful for His example of how to live before God in a pleasing and serving fashion. We have four Gospels which give us the life of Christ and the teachings of Christ. Scripture after scripture tells us of the importance of knowing and following the teachings of the New Testament and especially the teachings of Christ.
Rom 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scripture we might have hope.” Eph 4:11.12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”. Mtt 28:19,20 “Go therefore and make disciples …. teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”.
Believing that what we read and understand teaches us how to properly live our lives then I think looking at the final words of our Lord while He was hanging on the cross would bring us great benefit. One commentary made the point of highlighting that on the cross Jesus spoke seven words or phrases while hanging there. And seven is the Jewish number for signaling ‘sacred and complete”. So today I want to look at the first words that Jesus spoke on the cross:
Luke 23:33,34 “When they came to the place called ‘The Skull’, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing’. And they cast lots dividing up His garments among themselves.”
Remarkably, Jesus starts His ministry in prayer: Luke 3:21 “Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened.” And here we see it closing in prayer. And the amazing thing is the nature of His prayer – He is praying for forgiveness to those who are killing Him. He is praying for them and dying for them at the same time. Do you see Isaiah 53:12 here? Isaiah 53:12 “He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Mark 1:35 “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” Jesus clearly made prayer a significant part of His life. It started His ministry, carried Him through His ministry and was part of His final hours. If this behavior was important to our Lord then it should clearly be important in our lives as well.
“But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them” Is it not amazing that as He is hanging on the cross – dying, that He prays for those who are doing this to Him? But I want to ask this question – is it SURPRISING that He is doing this? Consider:
Mtt 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Mtt 6:12 “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
Mtt 6:14 “If you forgive others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Mtt 18:21,22 When Peter asked how many times should he forgive his brother Jesus replied not seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
Consider the parables He told about forgiveness – specifically the servant forgiven 10,000 talents but he throws into jail someone who owed him much less than his debt. His lack of forgiveness cost him dearly.
“But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them” ‘Them’ who?
The Roman soldiers/Pilate? The religious leaders?
The deserting disciples? The crowd crying “crucify Him”?
The entire fallen race of Adam – past, present, and future?
Or maybe ‘YOU’? Maybe he was praying for Me!
What is the answer to this question – who is Jesus praying for? Wonderfully Jesus was praying for ALL these groups and thankfully that includes you and me.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Wonderfully, thankfully, Jesus prayed that we ALL be forgiven.
“But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
As I was preparing my lesson I started thinking about this part of the prayer. And it answers the question as to how they could crucify Jesus. It is because they DO NOT know what they are doing. They do not know they are crucifying the Messiah. They do not know they are crucifying the Son of God. As a matter of a fact – there are two scriptures that corroborate this:
- Acts 3:17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.”
- 1 Cor 2:8 “Had they know [the wisdom of God], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
So, what is the grand synopsis of today’s lesson?
1) Jesus is our role model who we are to follow:
1 Cor 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Eph 5:1,2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” 1 Thess 1:6 “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit”.
2) Jesus loved and forgave – and as His followers we too must love and forgive :
Mtt 6:14 ““For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you…” Luke 6:27,28 “But I say to your who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”
“Christians” means ‘Christ like’.
If we are going to wear the label, then we must live up to that label.