4/7/23 Final Words

Final Words

(Good Friday Sermon)

Words are important.

James, the half-brother of Jesus reminds us of that when he speaks of taming the tongue in chapter 3 of his epistle. We are reminded that words have power, and they contain the ability to convey strong messages – messages of hope AND messages of hopelessness, messages that build up AND messages that tear down.

Like a small rudder steering a large ship, or a small spark setting an entire forest ablaze, our words literally have the potential to alter the course of someone else’s life.

The right words, uttered at just the right time, can be remembered forever.

For example, see how many of these famous movie quotes you can finish if I begin them:

1)     There’s no place like ________ (Home)

2)     Go ahead, make my ________ (Day)

3)     Frankly my dear, ___________ (Let’s NOT finish that one! – But you all know it! 😊)….that’s the point!

These movie quotes are just words, but you remember them because they were delivered at a specific moment in the movie where you were completely drawn into the storyline…you were emotionally invested in the moment.

Tonight, we are going to look at the 7 sayings of Jesus while he was on the cross.

These sayings are familiar to all of us because they were words spoken from the lips of our savior as he is literally dying.

The cross was the culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry - it was the tape at the finish line of his life in the flesh.

Do you remember your child’s first word…or simple sentence? Many of us remember the first actual word that our child said because it was something brand new – it was an outward sign that they were developing cognitively on the inside.

Likewise, if someone is on their deathbed, we tend to remember their last words, don’t we? Those words have special meaning as well because they are the final expression of communication from that person on this side of eternity.

Tonight, we remember when Jesus (God in the flesh) was on his deathbed. We would also do well to remember his final words knowing full well that they will be saturated with spiritual meaning and purpose….and they are.

Let’s take a brief look at each one:

1)     We find Jesus’ first words from the cross in Luke 23:34 “Jesus said, Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

I don’t know about you, but if I were hanging on a cross with life slowly draining out of me – The last thing I would probably want to do would be to ask my Father in Heaven to forgive those who placed me there.

But this is exactly what Jesus did. After having been whipped, bruised, mocked, spat upon - having had spikes driven through his wrists and feet – The first thing that Jesus expresses verbally from the cross is to ask his Father in Heaven to FORGIVE those who are killing him!

Why does he do this?

(Jesus’ Answer) Because “They know not what they are doing.

The people who called for his execution were not aware of the full scope of their wickedness.

Paul reminds us of this in 1 Corinthians 2:8 “None of the rulers of this age understood it (Talking about godly wisdom conveyed to people of faith through the Holy Spirit) for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.”

We can also discern another spiritual lesson from these words of Jesus: There is no sin against the son of God so severe that it cannot be forgiven – if we come to him in repentance.

2)     The second utterance from Jesus while on the cross is also found in Luke chapter 23, this time in verse 43 as Jesus is talking to the repentant thief on the cross next to him “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:43)

Simply put, this is one of the most important statements in the entire bible.

Why? Because from these 12 words, Jesus provides us with the essence – the simple truth - of how salvation is obtained.

These words of Christ are in response to the criminal who was himself being crucified right next to Jesus.

In Verse 42, the criminal says: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

This was a simple plea for forgiveness. This was an acknowledgment of the thief’s own sinfulness, and the realization that he needed a savior in order to be welcomed by Jesus into his heavenly kingdom – and that Jesus was that savior!

Simple faith – this is what we see behind these 9 words uttered by a condemned criminal dying on a cross.

And Jesus responds with these 8 words:  “Today you will be with me in Paradise”!!

What comfort Jesus’ response to the thief gives to us today...Why?

Because we are all born condemned! 

We are all born on a one-way road headed for eternity without God – our only hope is to access the other side of the highway heading the opposite direction.

A few years back my family and I were driving down an unfamiliar interstate and I realized that I had missed my exit. No worries, right?...we’ll just get off at the next exit and turn around. One problem though -  the next exit was another 25 miles down the road!

Has anyone else here been in this situation? Can I get a witness? 😊

You know those little alleys that connect two sides of an interstate that only authorized vehicles have the permission to use?

Well, there just happened to be one of those alleys coming up ahead of us…and I just happened to be in the far-left lane…and there just happened to be no vehicles behind me.

Yep, I did it. I slowed down and entered the alley and did the fastest U-Turn you’ve ever seen right in from of the sign that said “No U-Turns”

….and I had my excuse all ready if we had gotten pulled over: “But officer, my car identifies as a police cruiser”

In seminary, they tell you to never admit to committing a sin from behind the pulpit – so that’s why I’m standing a bit off to the side of the pulpit right now! 😊

In all seriousness – Every single one of us is born flying down an interstate at 100mph headed straight for Hell…..and our world tells us that we are not to use those ”Alleys of faith in Christ” that occasionally appear, allowing us to turn our vehicle around!

Every time you tell someone about Jesus, you are pointing out one of those alleys of opportunity to turn their life around through Jesus Christ.

But the world says: Everyone is going this direction, and look at the fun destinations that are just up the road – why would you want to change course and miss out on all of this? Don’t you want to go where everyone else is going? ….Besides, It’s uphill back the way we came and the scenery is way too boring.

But the thief on the cross Got It – He understood his need for a savior. This common criminal utilized an alley of faith after realizing that his vehicle needed to change direction. Fortunately for him, he came to faith in Christ just before he ran out of road – and he was saved from driving off the cliff to eternal destruction.

3)     The third sentence of Jesus on the cross takes us to John chapter 19, beginning with verse 26: “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son’, and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)

Even as He was dying, bearing man’s sin and God’s wrath, Jesus selflessly cared for those whom He loved.

Jesus knew that the only person in the world who would have been experiencing anything close to the pain that he was currently enduring would have been his mother, Mary.

To have a child die is bad enough, but to watch your child be tortured to the point of death and then watch them be nailed to a cross to endure a slow, agonizing death would be enough to drive someone insane – I cannot even fathom that!

Jesus knew this, and he speaks these tender words to his mother that she will be taken care of – and that everything is going to be alright.

Jesus still whispers that same message to us today – For those who believe in Him, Everything is going to be alright.

Do you believe that tonight? Do you consistently place your anxiety, your fears, your sins, at the foot of the cross?...and TRUST that He will deliver you?

Trust Jesus when He says that everything is going to be alright…because even if we, or a loved one, walks through that doorway of death – If that person knows Jesus as their Lord & Savior, they will be in Paradise with Him…and everything is going to be alright!

4)     The fourth sentence from Jesus comes from Matthew 27:46: “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?)

This question from the cross is saturated with a depth of theological meaning that few other passages of scripture contain.

The words that Jesus utters is a direct quotation of Verse 1 of Psalm 22 that speaks of God’s perceived abandonment in a time of stress, but then goes on to proclaim God’s faithfulness to those who worship Him.

This utterance of Jesus can be difficult to understand – until we remember what is actually happening to Jesus on a spiritual level at this point in the crucifixion.

While on the cross, Jesus is not only dying physically – He is also taking upon himself the wrath of the Father for the sins of the entire world…. past, present & future.

For Jesus, this was undoubtedly the most painful moment he had ever experienced. The physical agony would have been unimaginable enough, but we cannot even begin to comprehend the cataclysmic division that would have momentarily taken place between the Father and the Son – between the first and second persons of the Trinity.

John MacArthur describes it this way: “Jesus was crying out in anguish because of the separation He now experienced from His heavenly Father for the first and only time in all of eternity. It is the only time of which we have record that Jesus did not address God as ‘Father’. Because the Son had taken sin upon himself, the Father turned His back….In some way and by some means, in the secrets of divine sovereignty and omnipotence, the God-Man was separated from God for a brief time at Calvary, as the furious wrath of the Father was poured out on the sinless Son, who in matchless grace became sin for those who believe in Him.”

Scripture tells us that God cannot look upon sin.

Habakkuk 1:13 plainly states: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing….”

At this precise moment in history, Jesus was sin. The Father’s natural holiness and righteousness would have prevented Him from being at one with the Son, and beyond that, the Father had to judge Jesus fully for every sin that man had had ever committed – or would ever commit.

Jesus took on the punishment for our sins as he was the perfect, unblemished, sacrificial lamb.

Isaiah 53:5 says that the suffering servant (Jesus) was “….pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

-         The King James Version says, “With His Stripes we are Healed”, referring to the countless lashes that Jesus received from the Roman soldiers that would have left his skin literally peeling away from his back before staggering to the site where he would endure another 5 or 6 hours on the cross.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

So, what does this spiritual dimension of the cross mean for us today?

The answer: EVERYTHING

Jesus taking upon himself our sins at the cross is the bridge that connects sinful man to a righteous God – It is the catalyst for there to be peace between a holy God and His sinful and corrupt creation.

The Atonement of Christ completed everything needed for our justification, therefore we ought to serve Him with everything in our being…nothing less will suffice.

5)     The fifth utterance from the savior while on the cross takes us back to John chapter 19, verse 28: “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’” (John 19:28)

In His omniscience, Jesus knew there was only one remaining prophecy to be fulfilled – It comes from Psalm 69:21 “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”

Jesus knew that by saying “I am thirsty” he would be offered a drink. The soldiers, of course, were not interested in Jesus’ comfort – they were only interested in increasing his torment by prolonging his life a bit longer.

After Jesus had tasted it, he had officially completed a central component to his mission – to fulfill every single prophecy that had been written about him in the scriptures of the day (The Old Testament)

Let this fact inspire us to serve our savior with even greater fervor, knowing that He made sure to complete every single detail of his mission!

6)     The sixth sentence from Jesus is found a few verses later in John chapter 19, verse 30: “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is Finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30)

His mission accomplished; the time had come for Christ to surrender His life. Jesus voluntarily chose to lay down his life through a conscious act of His own sovereign Will.

John 10:17-18 reminds us of this “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

It was Jesus’ decision to bear the cross – to go through with the most painful component of the plan of salvation. He had free will. He did not have to go through with it if he didn’t want to.

The song He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels says it perfectly:

“He could have called ten thousand Angels, to destroy the world, and set him free, He could have called ten thousand angels, but He died alone, for you and me.”

Jesus loves YOU.

Jesus loves you with a love that you will never be able to fully comprehend.

Let His supernatural love for you motivate you to choose to live in obedience to Him!

7)     The seventh (And final) utterance from Jesus on the cross is recorded in Luke’s gospel. It comes at the same moment that John 19:30 leaves off.

Luke 23:46 says “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

Jesus was unique in all of history in the fact that he was 100% God and 100% man all at the same time – two distinct natures in one person.

We don’t fully comprehend the miraculous conjoining of these two natures (Called the Hypostatic Union) but we do know that Jesus voluntarily gave up His Spirit after accomplishing literally everything that he had set out to do since his public ministry began three years prior to this moment.

This was the moment when hope broke through like a ray of warm sunshine into a cold world full of darkness and despair.

This was the moment when death lost its sting.

This was the moment when our inherited sin, going all the way back to        Adam, became neutralized.

This was the moment when peace with God was made possible!

These 7 sayings from our savior while on the cross remind us all that it is all about Jesus!

The center of our faith needs to be Jesus.

The center of our lives needs to be Jesus.

And

The center of your eternal destiny is directly tied to whether or not you know Jesus.

It’s all about Jesus. If you do not have a relationship with him, come to him tonight.

Give yourself fully to Him – repent of your sin – ask him into your heart - and walk in the light……  Let’s Pray.