Luke 23:34, Luke 23:43, John 19:26-27, Matthew 27:46, John 19:28, John 19:30, Luke
23:46
I want to thank Dr. Wilson for delivering the message. I
trust that you were blessed and encouraged by God’s
word. I’m grateful for the time away, but I’m glad to
be back.
For the next few weeks we are going to take a break
from our study of David and consider what the
Scripture says about the death and resurrection of
Jesus. This morning we are going to look at the Seven
statements that Jesus spoke while He was on the
cross at Calvary. As we study them, my hope is that
we can all understand the heart of our Saviour just a
little bit more than we did before.
The first words that Jesus spoke from the cross were
a:
Prayer of Forgiveness
Luke 23:34 “And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do.’ And they
cast lots to divide his garments.”
Have you heard the joke, “what did the grape say
when it was smashed?” nothing, it just let out a little
wine.
The point is that what is inside comes out when we
are under pressure, pain or stress.
Jesus had been beaten, mocked, spit on and nailed to
a cross. And what came out of Him was not anger or
vengeance, but His heart of love and forgiveness
came shining forth.
Exodus 34:6-7 really shows us the heart of Jesus.
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love
and faithfulness, keeping the steadfast love for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin, but who will by no means clear the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Even while Jesus was being brutally punished for sins
that He didn’t commit, He showed grace and offered
mercy to those who were in need.
We must not miss the fact that we are all responsible
to accept His forgiveness. If not, we are still in our
sin.
Even though God is abounding in steadfast love and
slow to anger, He is also just and all sin must be
punished.
Ignorance is no excuse for sin. We are all sinners
and we all need forgiveness; those who receive it will
receive eternal life, those who reject it will be
separated from Him for eternity.
Jesus asked the Father to forgive the ones who
crucified Him, but in the end each one must decide
what they are going to do with God’s grace and
forgiveness. If rejected, the wrath of God will be
satisfied on them.
If accepted, Jesus will bear the wrath of God and take
away our sin.
The second words Jesus spoke from the cross were a:
Promise of Salvation
Luke 23:43 “And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to
you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”
Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One mocked
Him, the other realized his sin and Jesus’ lack of sin
and asked Jesus to remember him when He comes to
His kingdom.
This thief displayed faith in Christ in his last moments
on earth. And his reward was eternity in heaven.
Jesus doesn’t forgive us based on merit or family line
or anything other than His mercy and grace. It’s a gift
He gives freely to all who place their faith in Him.
As believers, we can rest in the hope that we will
spend eternity with Christ in heaven with the Father.
For we are saved by grace through faith…
It’s not by works, so no one can boast.
The third words Jesus spoke from the cross were
regarding our:
Spiritual Family Relationship
John 19:26-27 “When Jesus saw his mother and
the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he
said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’
Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your
mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took
her to his own home.”
Jesus, in His own agony, looked out into the crowd
and spotted His mother, also in agony, and His disciple
John, watching as He was being crucified.
Jesus showed His love by the action He took. He
assigned John to take care of Mary. They were a new
spiritual family.
Not unlike the way Jesus grafts us in His family tree
making us children of God, providing us with an
eternal inheritance, joint heirs with Christ.
Jesus desires for us to care and provide for our
families, but He also gives us spiritual brothers and
sisters within the body of Christ that we can and
should care for as well.
We are called to rejoice with those who rejoice and
weep with those who weep.
The cross of Christ gives us a new spiritual family.
The Fourth phrase that Jesus spoke from the cross
shows us that:
Sin Causes Separation from God
Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried out with a loud voice, saying‘Eli, Eli, lema
sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?’”
The Greek word translated forsaken can also be
translated to abandon, desert, to leave helpless.
At this exact moment, Jesus is experiencing the
weight of the sin of the world and the wrath of God
was being poured out on Him. Sin separates us from
God. Jesus endured the wrath of God so that we
wouldn’t have to. He went to the cross in our place.
The one without sin stood in for all whose sins put
Him there.
In the context of Matthew we read in verse 45 that
darkness was all over the land. Darkness is a symbol
of sin. We also read in verse 51 that the veil of the
temple was torn in two and the earth shook.
The death and resurrection of Jesus allows us to come
directly to God in prayer. When we sin we can simply
ask Him directly for forgiveness. Jesus was the full
and final sacrifice for our sin. Our past, present and
future sins have been wiped clean.
These words are a fulfillment of prophecy.
David wrote this in Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?”
David even mentions the hands and feet of Jesus
being pierced (v.16) and the soldiers casting lots for
his clothing(v.18).
All of it was fulfilled in the New Testament.
Jesus’ suffering was God’s exact plan of salvation.
When Jesus prayed in the garden before He was
arrested, He asked the Father if there was any other
way to accomplish salvation, but Jesus is the way…
His suffering is the path for our forgiveness.
The fifth phrase Jesus spoke showed His full humanity
as:
Jesus Suffered
John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all
was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture),
‘I thirst.’”
This statement proves that Jesus was fully human. He
felt pain and the agony of losing blood while hanging
on the cross. His thirst shows us that He felt the need
for water. Our bodies need water; our bodies are
made of between 50-70% water. Without water we
won’t survive.
These words of Jesus also fulfill the prophecy in Psalm
69:21 “…and for my thirst they gave me some sour
wine to drink.”
Many folks deny the full humanity of Christ.
There are a lot of theories about Jesus’ suffering.
Some believe He passed out. Swoon Theory
Others believe that those who saw Jesus after His
death were hallucinating. Hallucination Theory
Still others believe that Jesus didn’t appear after His
death, but an impersonator was pretending to be Him.
Impersonator Theory
Some think that Jesus’ resurrection was only a
spiritual resurrection and His physical body is still in
the grave. It was only told this way to illustrate the
truth of a spiritual resurrection. Spiritual
Resurrection Theory
Some believe that the body was stolen from the
grave.
Theft Theory
Others believe that the disciples didn’t know where
the tomb was. The Unknown Tomb Theory
The Bible tells us that Jesus was fully man and that
He suffered and died and was raised by God on the
third day.
Again, this was God’s plan for the redemption of man.
The sixth words of Jesus show us the:
Completion of Redemption
John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the sour
wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit.”
When Jesus cries, It is finished, it is a victory cry.
He knows that His death is the beginning of the
completion of God’s plan.
The Greek word finished means paid in full.
Jesus paid the debt for our sin.
It is once for all paid and it never has to be paid
again!
Church, we never have to worry about our salvation
because Jesus paid it all. Our sins have been washed
as white as snow.
You may have heard me talk about the completed
work of Christ on the cross. This is what I mean.
Jesus accomplished our redemption by His
substitutionary death on the cross at Calvary. He has
done the hard work.
Our job is to have faith in Him and receive God’s
grace.
The seventh words of Jesus show us the:
Obedience of Christ
Luke 23:46 “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud
voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit!’ and having said this be breathed his
last.”
The Romans didn’t take Jesus’ life, He gave it up
willingly.
Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2:8 “And
being found in human form, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.”
Jesus fulfilled the plan of the Father by suffering on
our behalf. He knew that He must die so that death
would be defeated. There could be no resurrection
without a death.
APPLICATION
As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ
in a few weeks, let’s take some time to
Consider the Heart of our Savior
Jesus prepared the way for us to be reconciled to the
Father. His love and patience and obedience paved the
way for us.
He modeled His love by giving up His life for ours.
He showed us obedience to God’s plan by doing the
most difficult thing – laying down His life.
He showed us how to treat others by praying for
those who were trying to kill him and by taking care
of His mother.
Read the story of the resurrection this week and see
what God may show you about His heart.
Look for ways to live that heart out this week.