Commentary on Calvary, Part 5

Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for the word of God that speaks to every one of us and pray that Lord, your word would speak today concerning all those things we need to know to live for your glory in your kingdom. In Jesus name. Amen. Luke chapter 23 is where we are. We are climbed on top of Mount Calvary. We have been here for four weeks. This is week number five on top of Mount Calvary and next week will be week number six, six weeks, six hours to cover the six hours of Calvary's cross.

And we have taken you through each and every aspect of those hours. This is the apex of redemptive history. This is where everything leads in the Old Testament to this one location and everything after this points back to this location and what took place during those six hours on Calvary's mountain. So we began by looking at the crucifixion on the cross to help you understand that the crucifixion of Jesus was no different than any other crucifixion that had ever happened before or would happen afterwards.

But the uniqueness about the crucifixion and what it accomplished in the case of Christ is absolutely unique to him. But because the Bible doesn't describe a crucifixion, it doesn't describe a scourging because it was so well known in those days, we took time to show you exactly what that was about. So we move from the crucifixion on the cross to the cursing from the crowd, how they mocked him, how they blasphemed him, how they derided him, whether it was the Sanhedrin, whether it was the spectators, whether it was the soldiers or whether it was the stealers, one on either side of him.

Every one of them were involved in blaspheming the name of God. They cursed the Son of God. And then we looked at the compassion from the Christ. That was the third point.

How he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. The very first word of Christ as it expressed a compassion for the crowd.

And even though they spoke against him and even though they blasphemed his name, he offered forgiveness to all those who would come to a place of repentance. And so we saw the compassion of the Christ. And from that we saw the conversion of a criminal as one of them would begin to understand the identity of the one hanging next to him. And he said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said, Today you will be with me in paradise. The second word that Jesus spoke from the cross.

The first was a word of pardon. The second was a word of promise. And then and then we were able to understand the consummation of Calvary. How darkness covered the land. How one moment the sun was glistening and shining. And then all of a sudden the lights went out. It was completely dark. And every Jew would know that that was a wrath of God. Every Jew would know the Old Testament. They would know about it in Joel. They would know about it in Zephaniah. They would know about it from the book of Exodus.

They would know that darkness represents the judgment of God. And that's why there was no word spoken by anybody during the last three hours of Calvary. Because they were absolutely terrified that God had showed up on Calvary's mountain. And as we looked at the consummation there on Calvary, we saw how the darkness covered the land. Then we talked about the dividing of the veil. Because now access to the Father would be granted to all who would come by way of repentance. And then we looked at the destruction from the earthquake.

And how the rocks were torn in two. And then we looked at the disinterment of the dead. How the dead were raised. Many of them were raised. Because God was giving them, believe it or not, a sign of the end. This was so important. I mean, all throughout the ministry of Jesus, they said, show us a sign. Show us a sign. Give us a sign. And all throughout his ministry, it was a miraculous ministry. Because he did, to prove his messianic credentials, sign after sign after sign. Way back when he first began his ministry in Luke chapter 4, when he told them that he was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.

That he was the Messiah who came to release the captive. To set free the prisoner. To make sure that the blind could now see. How he told them that this is fulfilled today in your hearing. And they said, isn't this not Joseph's son? And Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking. As he sat there in Nazareth, in his own hometown synagogue. Surrounded by family. Surrounded by friends that he grew up with. He knew exactly what they were thinking. And so he said, no doubt, you will quote this proverb to me, physician, heal yourself.

Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well. He says, I know what you're thinking. I know what's in your head. You're thinking, you know what? You've done some miracles at Capernaum. You need to do the same thing you did there, right here. Or we're not going to believe a word that you say. And then Jesus gave two illustrations. One about Elijah and one about Elisha. How Elijah went to that widow in Zarephath. And how Elisha took care of a Syrian king and did a miraculous work.

And how they came to believe in the living God. Because Israel did not recognize that they were blind, poor, naked, and in need of a savior. And they hated Jesus on that day. And they took him by force. And they wanted to throw him off the cliff. But the Bible says these words.

And there were many, I'm sorry, it says, and all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things. And they rose up and cast him out of the city and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built in order to throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went his way. That was a sign. That was a miracle. How did that happen? They took him and they wanted to throw him off a cliff. And next thing you know, he wasn't there. And somebody says, where'd Jesus go?

I don't know. I thought you had Jesus. No. No, I thought you had Jesus. No, they had Jesus. Where did Jesus go? How did he disappear among the crowd in the synagogue who wanted to throw him off a cliff? It was a sign he ultimately did give them, see? But they were always asking for signs. Remember when he fed the 5,000? And then the very next day he showed up. He says, I know why you're here. You're here because you want something to eat. And I'm here to do the work of my father. And they said, well, give us a sign.

Show us a sign. He had just fed 25,000 people the day earlier with a few fishes and a few loaves of bread. And they said, show us a sign. Give us a sign. Some way to know that you are who you say you are. And Jesus had told them, listen, if you don't believe Moses and the prophets. Because they spoke about me. You're not gonna believe what I say. And Luke chapter 16, the story about Lazarus and the rich man. And how the rich man asked Abraham that he would just take the tip of his finger and touch it in water that he might touch the tip of his tongue because he was tormented by the flame and that he wanted someone to go back from the dead.

Send somebody back for the dead. So my family will believe. And Jesus said they have Moses. They have the prophets. If they don't believe what they have said about me, they won't believe. Though somebody be raised from the dead. Why? Because it's not the miracle. It's always the message. Mark it down. Every superficial. Every shallow person wants a sign. Every sincere person wants the spoken word. Without exception. All the superficial, all the shallow, all they want are signs. Give us a sign. Give us the emotional upheaval.

Give us the miraculous. Where the sincere say, no, give us the message. Give us the truth. Give us the spoken word. Give us the revelation. We don't need to see a resurrection. We need to hear the revelation. That's what the sincere say. Because Jesus knew that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by a word about the Christ. And that's it. There is no other way. You got to hear the truth. And so Jesus did something on the cross. He spoke seven times. Seven is the number of completion. The number of perfection.

He spoke seven times from Calvary's cross. And even though in the consummation of Calvary, he gave them apocalyptic signs. He gave them an earthquake that would shatter the rocks. He gave them the darkness because darkness and gloom is what characterizes the end times. He gave them resurrections of many people, although that is characteristic of the end times. He knew they would not believe unless they were able to hear the spoken word. Hear the truth of God's holy word. And there would be some on that day.

Not many, but some who would be saved. We've already looked at the criminal who was converted. And next week we'll look at a centurion and soldiers that were converted.

But the unique thing about it is that Jesus spoke. He spoke the word of pardon. That was number one. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Why? Because he is ever, ever seeking the sinner. He spoke, number two, a word of provision.

It's recorded in John's gospel. When he said to his mother, behold, your son. He looked at John and said, John, behold, your mother. Why? Because he is ever serving. In the midst of his pain, in the midst of his dying for the sins of the world, he was still in service mode. Because he came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. He came to serve. And so in the midst of his death, he is still seeking. He is still serving. There was a word of pardon. Then there was a word of provision.

And then there was a word of promise. Why? Because he's still saving. He is ever saving. Today you will be with me in paradise. And then came that word of pain. After the three hours of darkness, we talked about it our last time together. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because he is ever the suffering servant. He is ever the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He is forever our substitute. And there were three words left that I want to cover with them with you this morning.

There is a word, a word of petition, a word of petition. And then there's a word of perfection. And then there's a word of peace. Because it is the spoken word of God. And each of them are unique in their own setting. Because they all happened at the end of the sixth hour around three o'clock in the afternoon. That word of petition is recorded in John chapter 19. So if you got your Bible, turn to John 19. Remember we told you that you need to read all four Gospels to understand exactly what takes place on Mount Calvary.

John 19 verse number 28. It says, This is astonishing. While the word of pardon tells us that Jesus is ever seeking. And the word of provision tells us that Jesus is ever serving. And the word of promise tells us that Jesus is ever, ever saving. And the word of pain tells us that it's a word that Jesus is ever, ever our substitute. You must understand that the word of petition tells us that Jesus was living in the mode of continual submission to his father. And submission to the authority of the scriptures.

You see, here is the king who turned water into wine. Here is the king who caused water to gush from a rock. If he's thirsty, he can handle his thirst. But remember, in the midst of darkness all hell came to Calvary for those three hours. For those three hours he would bear the sins of the world. And he would bear the wrath of God for every man who ever sinned for eternity. And only an infinite God could do that in a span of three hours. And all hell had come to Calvary. The fires of hell had come to Calvary on that day because he died as your substitute.

He died in your stead. He died in your place. He bore in his body your sin. He bore the penalty of your sin. He became your substitute so that when Christ looks at you, he sees nothing but the righteousness of Christ. He did that for us. When it was all said and done, he was thirsty. He hasn't drank anything all day. All night. He was beaten. He was scourged. He was crucified. He hung there for six hours. They offered him wine at the beginning as a sedative. Remember that? He turned it down. They offered him wine in the first three hours as the soldiers would sort of mock him by paying homage to a king.

But he turned that away as well. Because he was going to drink in all the pain. But it was all said and done. He said, I am thirsty. Are you ready for this? Not because he was thirsty. But because it was the divine fulfillment of Scripture. He lived in submission to the authority of Scripture. Listen, he could take care of his thirst any way he wanted. In his humanity, yes, he was thirsty. In his divinity, he could have settled the problem very easily any way he wanted to. But because of what the Bible says in Psalm 69, 21, They gave me vinegar for my thirst.

That's why John 19 tells us these words. After this, Jesus knowing that all things had already been accomplished, In order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, I am thirsty. He said it out of divine fulfillment of the authority of the Word of God. Because he wasn't going to die without making sure that he was completely submissive to everything that Scripture said. Would it be that we would live our lives not wanting to die without living in submission to everything the Scripture says?

Because that's what Jesus did. I am thirsty. He knew the prophecy of Psalm 69. And he knew he wasn't going to dismiss his spirit until everything was completely and fully satisfied. He began his ministry in Luke chapter 4 being hungry. He ended his ministry being thirsty. Because he truly is the Son of Man. He truly is the God-man. And therefore, he proves himself once again always living in submission to the authority of God. John 17 verse 4 says, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

And what was the work that God gave him to do? Yes, it was the work of Calvary. At the same time, it was the work of fulfilling everything that the Scriptures has said about the Christ. The next word, the sixth word, was a word of perfection. That's also in John 19. John 19 verse number 30. When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now, he says, it's over. It's done. It's complete. What was finished? The work of redemption was finished.

This was a word of consummation. It was a word of anticipation. It was a word of consummation because the work of redemption had now been completed. He had offered himself up as a substitutionary sacrifice. He had fulfilled everything the Scriptures had said up to that very last moment. And so now, he's ready to die. Now, he can give his life away. And this speaks, this word of perfection speaks that he was ever, ever satisfying his father in heaven. He lived to satisfy his father. The Bible says these words in Luke chapter 2 verse number 49.

My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 4 verse 34. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. John 5 verse 36. But I have greater witness than John's for the works which the father has given me, I finish. This is his mission. It is now accomplished. He has done everything that was foreordained of him in eternity past. And he screams, it is finished. It is finished. It wasn't like, oh man, I'm glad it's over. In other words, it was a victory voice.

It is finished, he yelled. Which would be impossible for any natural man to accomplish after six hours of crucifixion because he would have nothing left in his lungs to even begin to raise his voice, let alone to yell with his voice. But this is the son of God. It's a word of perfection. Everything was perfectly completed. Everything was done. It was the work of redemption. This is why he came. He came to die. He was born to die. He came to live his life, but through his living there is no salvation, but through his dying there is.

And he came for this purpose, the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. So he came. He yells that it's finished, not only as a consummation to his mission, but in anticipation, anticipation of his final declaration. In Revelation 21, verse number six, when he yells from the throne. Here he yells from the cross, but in Revelation 21 he yells, it is done. What's done? The work of recreation, the work of setting up his kingdom so that others could bow before him and live in adoration of him.

It is done. It is finished as a word of anticipation. This has to be accomplished. This has to happen first.

I must die for the sins of the world. And then I'm going to come again. I will establish my kingdom and then there will be an eternal kingdom and you will live forever and ever with me. And I can finally say it's over, it's done.

And you will live with me for eternity in glory. So this was a word of anticipation, knowing what was coming down the road. And then there's the word of peace. For that, you've got to go back to Luke 23. Just to let you know that we're still in Luke chapter 23. In Luke 23, these were his last words, his seventh word. And Jesus crying out with a loud voice said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. Wow. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. The very last words he said, listen carefully.

Not only a fulfillment of scripture. Out of Psalm chapter 31, verse number 5. But, he adds a word at the beginning by saying, Father. And that's what got him into hot water from the very beginning. It's almost like at the very end of his life, he has the last word. Father. Remember in John chapter 5, there had been a man who had paralyzed for 38 years. And Jesus would enter through the sheep gate there. And as he goes through the sheep gate, there's a place called the pool of Bethesda. The house of mercy.

And there, people who were paralyzed and lame would lay there. Thinking that when the water would bubble up, they would throw themselves in. And the first one in would be healed.

And Jesus walks up to the man and says, do you want to be healed? Now, he's been paralyzed for 38 years. Do you want to be healed? What's he going to say? I don't know, I guess. I've been this way for 38 years, what's 38 more? No, he said, of course I do. But I have no man to throw me in. And Jesus healed him on the spot. He took up his pallet and walked. Pharisees were angry. They were furious. What are you doing walking? It's the Sabbath. Who healed you on the Sabbath? The guy had no idea who healed him.

And Jesus would find him later, introduce himself to him. And the man would ultimately say, it was Jesus. Who healed me. And in John chapter 5, you have a very telling incident. Because in John chapter 5, everything about the ministry of Jesus, not only turned against him by the religious establishment, but it established their desire to kill him. For it says, these words in John chapter 5, listen carefully. The man went away and told the Jews, that is the leaders of Israel, that it was Jesus who had made him well.

And for this reason, the Jews were persecuting Jesus. Because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But he answered him, my father is working until now, and I myself am working. Jesus tells them, my father and I are working. Then it says this, very important. For this cause, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. You see, that one verse defines what Jesus was saying, when he called God his father.

For 151 times in the gospel, he speaks as God as his father. There is not one recorded incident in all of the Old Testament, where any one Jew ever called God his father. Because that would be blasphemous. Because if you as a Jew called God your father in a personal, relational way, that means you are claiming one in essence. One in nature. And that would be blasphemous to a Jew. And that's what Jesus did. And that's why it's defined this way in John 5. Because you, hey wait a minute, we're going to kill you, because you're claiming to be the son of God.

You are claiming that you are equal with God. You are saying you have the same nature as God. You are saying you have the same essence of God. And you can't say that, you must die. And so Jesus, as he hangs on the cross, for the final moments of those six hours, yells with a loud voice, Father! Just in case you didn't get it over the last three years of my ministry. Just in case you misunderstood me when I said that I was the son of God. Just in case you misunderstood me when I called God my father, because none of you can call him your father, because he is one with me and I am one with him.

And in John 10, they wanted to stone him because he said, I and the Father are one. And that doesn't mean they are one in purpose either, as Jehovah's Witnesses say. Well that means they are one in purpose. You don't stone somebody because they are one in purpose. You stone them because they are one in essence, they are one in nature. And so Jesus says, just in case you didn't get it, let me give it to you one more time.

This is so amazing. God is incredible. Father! Everything is back together again. He is one with the Father. He called him my God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me, that word of pain? Because he bore in his body your sin and mine. He was separated from his Father for those three hours, as all hell came to Calvary. But now everything has been restored, because he has accomplished the work that his Father gave him to do. Now he says, it is finished! Father! Father! Now I, into your hands, I commit my spirit.

Now. This is so good. Because the Bible says, in the Greek, he dismissed his spirit. This is so good. It's like he says, okay spirit, you can go now.

I mean, talk about being in charge. The word of peace speaks that he is ever sovereign. He is the ever ruler of the world. He is in complete control of everything. He was in control of every event on Calvary's cross. He was in control of every event that led to Calvary's cross. He was in charge of every word he said on Calvary's cross. He fulfilled everything to the very end. He is a sovereign God of the universe. And so he says, Father, into your hands, I now dismiss my spirit. The Bible says that he bowed his head.

He pillowed his head. He didn't slump over and say, oh thank God, it's over. No, he pillowed his head because it was done. Everything that he came to do, he did. What a way to live. What a way to die. And so he says, Father, just in case all you out there didn't get it the first time, or the second, or the hundredth time, let me give it to you one more time before I dismiss my spirit.

Father, play me once again his deity. Play me once again his identity with the Father that he is one with him. Father, into your hands. By the way, those same hands, his Father's hands, are the very hands that he has committed you and me to. For he said these words over in John chapter 10, verse number 29, my Father which gave them to me is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. So the same hand that he's already committed you and me to is the same hand now he commends his spirit to.

Because it's his Father's hand. The hand of protection. The hand of love. The hand of care and support. The hand of power. Listen.

Whose hands are you in? If you're not in the hands of God, if you're not in the hands of God, in other words, if you are not securely joined to the hands of the Father, you will be severely judged by the Son himself. You must be securely joined to the hand of God the Father. If you are, you experience no condemnation, no judgment. If you're not, you will. The Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

It is. For those who do not know him. But everything on this day speaks to us. He is still seeking. He is still serving. He is still saving. He is the one who is still your substitute and mine. He is still the sovereign God of the universe who submits totally to everything his word says. Because he is the God who is ever sovereign. He dismissed the spirit. And then, and then, the Bible says these words.

And having said this, he breathed his last. Now, when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, certainly this man was innocent. He began praising God. You know, Calvary's cross, as tragic as it was, was truly something that we praise our God for. And so we leave today praising him for the work of redemption. Praising him for his work of salvation and sovereign control over every situation. We praise him for who he is. And it would be my prayer that you truly are secured in the hands of God himself.

That you've entrusted yourself to Christ. You've given your life to him. You've experienced the forgiveness of God. And by grace, through faith, you have accepted him as Lord and Savior and live in obedience to follow him all the days of your life. I mean, it's the least we could do for the one who gave himself for us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. For truly, Lord, it is your day. It is the Lord's day. And we have come to honor you on your day. And that's why we are here. To pay homage to the name of God.

And our prayer, Lord, is that we would live in submission to your word. Having heard what you said from Calvary's cross. May we make it a part of our life. Because we've believed in the sovereign God of the universe who died as a substitute on Calvary's tree for sinners like us. And our prayer is that no one would leave today without knowing for certain that heaven is their destiny. That Jesus is their king. We pray this in the name of Christ. Amen.