Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Let's pray together.
Father in heaven, you deserve our attention.
You deserve our praise.
You deserve our life.
And this evening we ask that as we spend time looking at your word, remembering what happened about 2,000 years ago, as Jesus hung on that cross, it was no surprise to him that that day was coming.
It was no surprise to you.
And yet with your face set towards Jerusalem, towards the cross, you pressed on.
As we spend time right now remembering and yes, even celebrating how something so terrible could be so good, I pray, Lord, that you would keep our eyes open and humble, you would fix our hearts in a posture of praise towards you in Jesus name. Amen.
Last words of someone before their death, they matter.
For years now, we have paid attention to people's last words.
And this evening we'll pay attention to the last words, particularly the last seven times Jesus spoke before his death.
The last seven statements of Jesus.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: On the screen, I'll put the passages
[00:01:42] Speaker A: that will look at the phrases that Jesus said and then we'll unpack them, the obviously seven of them that we walk through together.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: If you have a Bible, feel free
[00:01:50] Speaker A: to look at that as well, to look at context of what we're going to be walking through, both through the various gospels.
We'll start off with the first one, Luke 23, 33, 34.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: When they had come to the place
[00:02:11] Speaker A: that is called the skull Golgotha, there they crucified him and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
And Jesus said, father, forgive them, for
[00:02:29] Speaker B: they know not what they do.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: And we find the soldiers at his feet, casting lots for his garments.
Jesus asked his Father to forgive people who were brutally hurting his son with the intent to kill him.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: And these people that Jesus said, father, forgive them, they had not even yet confessed their sin. Now, for us, that's usually what we
[00:02:59] Speaker A: wait for, isn't it?
[00:03:00] Speaker B: We want people to apologize first, and then we will do what?
[00:03:05] Speaker A: Forgive them.
Not Jesus.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: How could he ask his just Father to enact forgiveness at a time like this?
Is this really the time for forgiveness?
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Is it really?
[00:03:24] Speaker B: Is this the time to turn a blind eye to the hand of wicked men?
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Could it be?
Could it be, friends, that Jesus knew
[00:03:32] Speaker B: that his death on the cross was
[00:03:35] Speaker A: the demonstration of God's justice so that God's forgiveness could be displayed.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: Now, while their ignorance of divine truth did not mean they deserved forgiveness, Christ's prayer in the midst of their mocking
[00:03:50] Speaker A: is an expression of his limitless compassion of divine grace.
It is important for us today to
[00:04:00] Speaker B: note that this just because Jesus said Father, forgive them. Does not mean that everyone there was forgiven unilaterally without repentance and faith. It does mean, though, that Jesus was willing, he was ready and willing to forgive them. Forgiveness was in fact the reason that he was on the cross. And so when he said, father, what?
Forgive them.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: This shows the merciful and selfless heart of God.
Jesus practiced what he preached.
And then we see that they cast lots for his garments. A reference to Isaiah 53:12 says this.
[00:04:39] Speaker B: Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoils with many. Because he poured out his soul. Jesus poured out his soul to death and was remembered and numbered with the transgressors, that is the sinners. Yet he bore the sin of many. That's you and I today, friends, and
[00:04:57] Speaker A: makes intercession for the sinners, for the transgressors.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Jesus, in the midst of being unjustly
[00:05:06] Speaker A: hung on a cross, was demonstrating love to those who nailed him there and not even requiring that they first apologize.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Chapter 23, verse 39. A little bit further, the second thing that Jesus says, 39, 43. Then, as we know that Jesus was hung between two criminals.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: One of the criminals who was hanged railed at him and says, are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us?
But the other rebuked him, saying, do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done what nothing wrong.
[00:06:10] Speaker A: And then he looks at Jesus and says this Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
And Jesus turns and looks at him and says this truly, in some Bibles, truly, truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
Do you see the exchange that occurs between the criminals at Jesus right and left hand?
[00:06:39] Speaker B: Do you see the pride in one
[00:06:42] Speaker A: and the humility in the other?
[00:06:44] Speaker B: Do you see how one seeks to avoid the consequences due his actions? And the other realizes that he is experiencing justice.
The humble criminal didn't just communicate his understanding that this was justice being done. No, he did more. He also realized that Jesus was the true king and Jesus death was not going to be his end. Do you see that there?
This profound spiritual understanding must grab our attention. This unnamed humble criminal must make us pay attention.
He wasn't just a man who said, yes, I deserve this, but rather this man, he doesn't deserve this.
He understood the identity of Jesus, whatever
[00:07:36] Speaker A: the depth of his understanding, whatever it might have been we know something.
This man possessed saving faith.
This man recognized Jesus identity and realized death would not be the end of Jesus.
Seemingly everyone else there thought this was Jesus end, but not this man.
Truly, Truly. I say to you, this is emphatic.
[00:08:13] Speaker B: This is personal, this is important. This is present tense. He's not saying one day, sometime down the road, he's saying today you will be with me.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: Where in paradise.
Heaven is attained by humbling yourself before the man on the middle cross, recognizing who he truly is and seeking to be in a relationship with him.
We go on a little bit further. In John 19:26, 27, Jesus is there on the cross.
It says this in verse 26.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he
[00:09:04] Speaker A: 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.
Something that's easy to miss here is this.
While Jesus hung on the cross, he wasn't just thinking about his pain.
He was concerned about those watching on.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: He didn't ask them to leave because they shouldn't see this gross thing in his body, bleeding, beaten and hung there for all those passing by on the road. He didn't ask them to turn around to protect their memories of him. No.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: Jesus saw his mother standing near the cross with the one apostle who was left standing beside her whom he loved. And he entrusted his mother's care to this disciple, this one that Jesus loved.
In this verse we see Jesus, the ever compassionate son, making sure that his earthly duties, that is his mother, is cared for.
Now many scholars believe that Joseph had
[00:10:25] Speaker B: since died and it was then the duty of the eldest son to care
[00:10:28] Speaker A: for his widowed mother.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Why then does Jesus, knowing he's going to leave the earth, not entrust his mother's care to the next eldest son?
[00:10:38] Speaker A: Most likely this.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: They had not yet professed faith in Jesus as God.
And Jesus not only cared for the physical well being of his mother, but
[00:10:48] Speaker A: also cared for the spiritual well being of his mother.
An important lesson for us today is this, friends, negate your earthly responsibilities so that you can take on spiritual responsibilities.
It is deeply spiritual to take care of your family.
The spiritual meaning can also be drawn from Jesus words. When he said, woman, behold your son.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: It's this establishing the family of God
[00:11:14] Speaker A: was at the heart of Christ's mission and his ministry.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Through the relationship with Jesus, a believer
[00:11:23] Speaker A: becomes a part of a new family. Does he not? Does she not?
[00:11:27] Speaker B: These words were profoundly illustrated in this moment. When Jesus looks And says to his
[00:11:34] Speaker A: mother, you have a family member. The family of God started there at the foot of the cross.
We look in Matthew now, the fourth phrase here, chapter 27, verses 45 through 46.
For the first three hours, from 9 until noon, there was daylight and there was mocking. That's what we've covered so far.
From the sixth hour, there was darkness
[00:12:07] Speaker B: over the land until the ninth hour.
[00:12:11] Speaker A: That is from noon until three.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: In about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice. Could someone say a loud voice?
Eli, eli, labah sabachthani.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: That is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[00:12:34] Speaker B: It's the middle of the day and there's darkness.
This would have grabbed everybody's attention.
Why was there darkness in the middle of the day?
What was going on?
[00:12:46] Speaker A: It was as if this all creation stopped.
They knew what was happening with their creator.
And they said, we need everybody paying attention to this.
This is a serious moment.
And for hours it remained in darkness.
This event mattered. This event was not just darkness. For those there who watched Jesus hanging on the cross, this is and forever will be a moment of darkness.
Creation knew that.
Remember before, Jesus was asking about others, he said, father, he says, father, forgive them right here. What does he say? My God, my God. Do you see the relational change there?
[00:13:42] Speaker B: We went from my father many times
[00:13:44] Speaker A: he's praying, my Father, my Father. And here, perhaps the only time he says, my God, something changed.
Why have you forsaken this word is to abandon, to leave one side with Jesus statement. Here we see him expressing his feelings
[00:14:07] Speaker B: of abandonment as God placed the sin of the world upon him. This is an incredibly unique situation. Jesus being fully God and fully man, realizing there's some level of spiritual separation that occurred between us. Psalm 22 speaks about this. We see this echoing of the in Psalm 22:1 where it says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
When we look to the cross, we
[00:14:33] Speaker A: may think of love, but we also must remember.
The cross commands us to remember God's holiness and God's justice.
And that was clearly seen and experienced by Jesus as he hung.
Jesus asks this question, but he fully knew what was happening.
[00:14:57] Speaker B: Jesus did not cease to be God, but there was this unique separation between the Father and the Son. At this occasion, God had to turn his back, if you will, proverbially on his Son as he took upon the weight of the sin of the world.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Obviously we know that others were wondering, what is he talking about, is he calling for some help?
Verse 28 of John 19. The fifth thing 28:29 of John 19 after this, that is, after he says this.
[00:15:38] Speaker B: Jesus knowing that all was now finished, said.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: And John, the writer of the book
[00:15:44] Speaker B: says this kind of inserts his commentary, says to fulfill the scripture, Jesus says this.
[00:15:51] Speaker A: I thirst.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: A jar of sour wine stood there.
[00:15:56] Speaker A: So they put it on a sponge full of sour wine on a hiss of branch and held it up to his mouth.
It's now 3pm Moments before Jesus is about to give up his spirit.
Think of all the things that have happened.
It very well is possible that Jesus hasn't had a drink since the Last Supper.
When he was sitting in the upper room with his disciples. We know he then goes to the garden.
He prays, weeping. He's then arrested and he endures trials, beatings, mocking.
Jesus was human friends.
He was thirsty, clearly dehydrated. His request for something to drink reveals his humanity. The apostle John links this as well to a prophetic announcement.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: There were in fact at least 20 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled during the 24 hour period surrounding the Lord's death. By highlighting how the Old Testament scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus crucifixion, John, the author here shows that everything was happening according to God's plan. God is not out of control right now. God is not grasping for something to hold onto to save Jesus. God knew this was going to happen. The Father did.
Then when Jesus says I thirst on
[00:17:21] Speaker A: the cross, we see a reference also to Psalm 69.
We see that the soldiers give him something to drink.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: You might ask this question, which would be a reasonable Didn't Jesus know he
[00:17:38] Speaker A: was about to die?
If so, why is he asking for something to drink?
Why?
Why seek a drink to help his dry mouth? Yes, prophecy needs to be fulfilled.
There's that, and of course he's going to do that. But something else.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: The next two things he would say needed to be said loudly and clearly. And that wouldn't be possible with a dry mouth.
6 John 19:30 when he had received the sour wine, he said this. Can we say it together? It finished and he bowed his head
[00:18:27] Speaker A: and he gave up his spirit.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: That was not something to be whispered.
[00:18:34] Speaker A: That was not something to be said with a garbled tone or breath.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: This needed to be clearly understood and announced to all who could hear. What were the three words? What was the word he said?
It is finished. In Greek, it is one word, tetelestai. It is a word that literally just means paid in full.
When Jesus uttered these words, he was declaring the debt owe to his Father for your sin. And my sin was paid in. Say it together, full, not partially. It was paid in full.
Jesus here and now is doing the work that no animal could do for the thousands of years prior. As long as they've been sacrificing animals, trying to cover up their sin, trying to pay the price for their sin, it was never enough. Never enough, never enough. Nothing was paid in full. The sin of mankind couldn't be paid in full by the blood of animals. And then Jesus, hanging there on the cross, says what it is.
He says, paid in full.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: It reminds me of a song.
It was finished upon that cross.
How I love the voice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
He declared his work is finished.
He has spoken this hope for me.
It reminds me of another song.
A song that perhaps everyone here knows a verse from a song. It is well.
Can we sing that together?
[00:20:27] Speaker C: My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought.
My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nail to the cross.
And I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
O my soul.
[00:21:21] Speaker A: Amen.
In Luke, chapter 23, verse 46, we find this.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: Then Jesus calling out with a loud
[00:21:34] Speaker A: voice, says,
[00:21:37] Speaker B: father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
[00:21:44] Speaker A: And having said this, he breathed his last.
Here Jesus is willingly giving up and into his Father's arms, indicating this.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: No one took this from me.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: My life.
[00:22:02] Speaker B: I gave it up. Jesus chose in many ways through the last 24 hours, chose death. It was not taken from him his life. He gave it up. He let himself be arrested. He let himself be stripped of his clothes. He let others slap him. He let others put a crown of thorns on his head. He chose to remain quiet during a.
He chose to remain silent during false accusations as they were thrown at him. He released his spirit from his body. He relinquished his soul to the Father Jesus.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: His life was not taken from him. He gave it up for you and I.
He offered himself, unblemished to the Father.
Hebrews 9:14 says this, how much more will the blood of Christ, who, through
[00:22:55] Speaker B: the eternal Spirit, offered himself without blemish
[00:22:59] Speaker A: to purify our conscience from dead works, to serve a living God. Friends, the only way you and I can stand before God is because of what Jesus Christ did. Amen.
[00:23:09] Speaker B: No one takes it from me.
[00:23:11] Speaker A: John 10:18 says, Jesus speaking, but I
[00:23:13] Speaker B: lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.
But that's for a different day.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: This charge I have received from my Father.
[00:23:24] Speaker B: The authority of Jesus to lay down
[00:23:26] Speaker A: his life is seen on the cross.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: And the authority for Jesus to take up his life again will be seen
[00:23:33] Speaker A: in a couple days.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: Until then,
[00:23:39] Speaker A: thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for taking what was terrible and making it good.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven, as we gather here this evening, we are reminded as we look at your word right now that
[00:24:06] Speaker B: we are only able to approach you with this kind of confidence because of
[00:24:10] Speaker A: what Jesus did on the cross.
[00:24:13] Speaker B: We are only able to have confidence that our sins are washed away. We are washed white as snow, covered in your righteousness because of what Jesus did.
[00:24:24] Speaker A: We're also reminded that the wages of sin is death.
Help us not to forget the power of sin, to not treat it lightly, to not treat it flippantly, but to
[00:24:40] Speaker B: truly treat it as a crime against the throne.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: And the consequence, the punishment is death.
Eternal separation from you, Lord. We are grateful this evening that we can look to the cross and see something good, knowing that that death was paid for, that our death was paid in full.
The price that we should have paid our life was paid for by Jesus Christ.
Thank you for the cross.
In Jesus name, amen.
