Consider the Cross, Part 4

This morning, we want to look at the conversation on the cross. Jesus spoke seven times in six hours. Seven statements he made. This morning I want to, Lord willing, cover the first four, and then next week, the final three of what he said when he hung on the tree that day on Gag.

So let's look at the first word. Luke chapter 23, verse number 34. Luke 23, verse number 34. We're going to call this the word of pardon. The word Pardon. It says in verse number 33, and 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 le. And then it says in verse number 34, but Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. We belie that Jesus would utter these words as he was being nailed to the tree.

As he was being held down there, he wasn't struggling. He willingly laid his. his hands out, but they would of course lay on the hand as they would hold it steady and and drive the nail through it and through his feet. It would be at that time when Jesus would say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are Do. This was a beautiful fulfillment of prophecy. This word of pardon was something that was recorded in Isaiah 53, verse number 12. Where it says that he would make inter for his trans.

It was prophesied that he would pray for them. That's important because Jesus began his ministry with prayer and now he ends his earthly ministry with a prayer. This petition that would offer for for the sins Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. They did not understand. The identity of the Christ, nor did they understand the enormity of their crime. They didn't get it. They missed it. Although they would see his miracles, although there was no doubt that what he did was beyond anything they could ever imagine.

They did not understand the identity of the Christ, and nor did they understand the enormity of their crime. That they would take this Son of Man, put him on the tree, and crucify him, and want nothing to do with him. Although just a few days earlier they would hail him as the king of the Jews, on this day they wanted not this king to rule over them. And yet, Christ would pray, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. And notice that he appeals to his Father.

He wanted them to go to heaven. That was the desire of his heart. He wanted them to receive freedom from their sins. He wanted them to be released from the guilt of their sins. So he would petition his father. That would be the very first thing he would say, because that was the very first thing on his mind.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. A word of pardon. Word number two, turn to John chapter 19.

John chapter 19, and this is a word of provision. A wor of provision. It says in verse number 2. Therefore, the soldiers did these things, but there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman. Behold your son. And then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her into his own household.

The thing that intrigues me the most about our Lord, He left us an example to follow. He came to give His life a ransom. Right? He did not come to be ministered to, but to minister. And up to the very end, his whole life was consumed with ministering to other people. And so he would pray for the forgiveness of those round about him. And then he would look at his mother, he would look at John, and he would give to them a word of provision.

Remember what Simeon said way back in Luke 2 when he took the baby into his arms and rejoiced because he had seen the salvation of the Lord and God had let him live up to that time and now he was ready to die? He told Mary, he said, a sword shall pierce through your own soul to the end. You know, here was the mother of our Lord. She had, through a miracle, conceived the Son of God through the Holy Spirit. She had given birth to Jesus Christ. But from the very beginning to the very end, it was a life of difficulty and hardship.

It was never easy for Mary. Was it? She was ridiculed. She was gossiped about. People would talk about her behind her back because here was this young girl somewhere between the ages of 12 and 14 who was pregnant, who wasn't married. So she was accused of being an adulteress. And from the very time that our Lord was born there in that little grotto in Bethlehem. She had to flee Bethlehem. She had to go down to Egypt. She and Joseph were on the run for those first two years from one place to another, never really settling down.

And throughout her whole life, she had to deal with the unbelief of Jesus' brothers. And they didn't believe in Jesus. In fact, the Bible tells us that his brothers didn't believe in him until after the resurrection. So, throughout her whole life, she had to deal with sibling rivalry. She had to deal with jealousy in the family between her children. And Jesus. It was never an easy life for Mary. But because she stood silent in John 19. At the foot of the cross, we begin to understand the fact that this was truly the Son of God.

Because this thing, nobody knows their son better than his mother, right? Your mother knows you better than you know yourself. And if Jesus wasn't the Son of God, don't you think she would have said something? Oh, he just didn't know what he was talking about. He should never be crucified. He's not the Son of God. He's my Son. But she never said a word because she knew who he was. She believed that Jesus was the Son of God. Mary would have a reward. He would look at her from the cross.

He would think of her needs, not his own. He would think of her needs. And remember, the Bible says in the book of Exodus, the 20th chapter, that children ought to honor their mother and father, right?

In Matthew 5, verse number 17, what does it say about Jesus Christ? He came to fulfill the law, not to abolish the law. He came to fulfill every part of the law of God. In so doing, he would. Honor his mother all the way to the very end. He honored her by providing for her. He did not leave her in the lurch. He couldn't leave her anything. He didn't have anything. He didn't even have a place to lay his head. He had no house he could give to her. He didn't have an inheritance he could give to her.

But he would provide for her. He would provide for her through the disciple. Whom Jesus loved. That's John's name as you go through the Gospel of John. He never refers to himself as John, he always refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Because he was taken back by the love of God in his life. And I find it very interesting that John was the first.

To come back to Jesus. Remember that disciples, when Christ prophesied that they would all deny him. That Peter was the one who piped up and said, Oh, though all men deny you, I won't deny you. I'm different than everybody else, Lord. I'm going to stand strong with you when Christ said before the cock crows three times. Before the cock crows, you'll deny me three times. And as you recall, the narrative in Matthew 26, that all the disciples Chimed in with Peter and said, We're not going to deny you.

And yet, the Bible says they all forsook him. And fl there in the Garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers came to get him. But John, the very next day, comes back with the mother of Jesus. He stands at the foot of the cross and looks into the eyes of his Master. He comes back to his Lord. This is so important. Why? Because I don't know where you are today. But if you're a child of God, Jesus, He wants you back. Oh, John came back. And he too would receive a word of provision. Different than Mary's.

But different than the other disciples, as well. And God would use him in a great and mighty way. What a beautiful picture of the compassion and mercy of our God. As he thinks about John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. As he thinks about his mother Mary, and how they would be used from that day forward. A word of provision. You know, God wants to provide for you too, doesn't he? Sure, he does. He wants to forgive you of your sins as well. Because that's who he is. A word of pardon, a word of provision, and thirdly, a word of promise.

Turn back with me to Luke 23, if you would. Luke 23. It says in verse number 39, and one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other answered, and rebuking him, said, Do you not even fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this man Has done nothing wrong, and he was saying, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.

And he said to him, Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise. A word of promise. Picture the scene. There are three crosses, Jesus in the middle, two criminals on either side, an arm's length away from the Messiah. They have a first-hand glimpse of everything that's happening that day.

Everything. They are hearing what Jesus is saying. They hear him say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. They hear him speak to his mother and to this one that was standing with his mother. They heard all the abuses that the people gave. In fact, they heard them so much that the Bible says in Matthew's account that both of the criminals, not just one, but both of them.

Hurled abuses at him. Both of them mocked him. Both of the criminals were against him. Both of the criminals were ruined by sin, but one of them would recognize the Savior and receive salvation. The other would not. This man is saved. This man is saved before any of the miraculous things take place on the cross. So we're going to talk about them in days ahead. He was saved before the earthquake. He was saved before the world became dark. So there was no miraculous event surrounding the salvation of this man.

What saved the man were the words of Christ. What saved the man was the word of God. He heard the word of God, and God would touch his heart. He says, remember me. When you come into your kingdom, he recognized that this one hanging next to him was a king, was a lord, was a master. He recognized his true messiahship. And Christ said, Today, you'll be with me. A word of promise. Do you have that promise? If you give your life to Christ, He's promised you'll be with Him in paradise. A word of pardon, a word of provision.

A word of promise. And fourthly, a word of p. A word of pain. The Bible tells us that Christ said these three wor, these three state, before the world became dark. At the end of that time, around the ninth hour or around three o'clock in the afternoon, he would then say the four last statements. Pretty close together. But you need to understand that before he says what he's going to say, Eli, Eli, Sab. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He says it at the end of those three hours of darkness.

All that is very important because this one statement is the central statement. Not only is it the fourth in the middle of the seven, it is the central statement. It is the central act. where Jesus Christ Himself would do for you what you couldn't do. Where He became your substitute Whereas Peter says he bore our sins in his body on the tree. He did more than just bear your sins. The Bible says he became sin.

He did not become a sinner because he's sinless, but he became sin. 2 Corinthians 5:2. That you might become the righteousness of God in Him. It's important to note. That what Jesus did at this time is the crux Of your salvation. The central issue in how a man can actually be born again. Because he actually became my substitute. He took my place, your place on the cross and experienced on the cross. The great of the penalty of the wrath of God. He took upon him for three hours the wrath of his f.

So that you wouldn't have to. Now that's important. Because what he did at Calvary for those three hours A mere mortal man or all of mortal man could not experience throughout all eternity in hell. The magnitude of his suffering is se in that phrase, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Meaning that there was an abandonment between God the Father and God the Son. Now, how that happens I don't know. All I know is that it did. Because Jesus says, You have forsaken me.

Why have you forsaken me? My God, my God. We will note that in the Bible, Jesus always refers To his Father in heaven as Father, ex in Matthew chapter 27, verse number 46. It's the only time he call God the Father God. Every other time it's Father. This time. It's God. This is the great miracle at Calvary. It's a unique miracle. It's unparalleled. But this is the greatest miracle at Calvary when Jesus Christ. Would substitute for your sin and for mine. In some way, by some me, in the secrets of divine sovereignty and the secrets of omnipotence.

The God-man was separated from God the Father. Now, how that happens, I really can't explain to you. I'm going do the best I can this morning. But he had to effectually become your substitute. To become your substitute, he had to pay your penalty. What is the penalty that unbelieving man pays for all eternity? Let me read it to you.

It's recorded in the book of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1. Verse number 9: When it talks about those who do not obey the gospel of God, it says this: These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. What is eternal destruction? Away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. That is eternal destruction. Away from the presence of God and the glory of His power. For Christ to be your substitute, he had to be away from the pres of God the Father. Why? Because you see, that's the essence of our penalty, right?

It's more than just burning in hell forever. It's burning in hell forever away from the presence of God. That's called spiritual death. That's called the second death.

Away from God forever. So Jesus Christ on Calvary would have to pay that penalty. In order for him to be the full substitute He had to pay that substitutionary price to its fullest. Now, note: Jesus Himself. Was always fully God and fully man. Never was he separate in nature. Never was he separate in essence, and never was he separate in substance. For God is three in one, and God will always be God. In any degree, Jesus never ceased to be God. He always was and always is. But there's something that took place in that separation that helps us understand the agony and excruciating pain of sin.

You see, Jesus never cried out because of the nails in his hands. Jesus never cried out because he was beaten severely. Never do we hear of Jesus Christ him crying out in agony because of physical pain. Because he was like the lamb led to the slaughter. And there was nothing in him that would cause him To lash out or to cry because of that pain physically. Although I'm sure he was in great pain. But there was something that caused him to cry out, right? There was something that would cause him to cry out in pain, unbeknownst to you and me: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why? Because that separation happen for three hours. For the first time throughout all eternity, and never before it happened again.

How can God separate from God? I don't know. But I do know this. In Philippians 2, when he became a man, he separated from divine glory to come to earth, right? He came here to dwell among us. He came here to die for the sins of man. And so there was a partial separation between God the Father and God the Son when he came to earth to die for the sins of man. In fact, John 17: says this. When he prayed thy high priestly prayer, gl thou me together with thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

So there was some kind of separation between God the Father and God the Son, although they're all one. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. There was some kind of separation that would take place in the incarnation. Philippians 2 says, He emptied him. He became obedient unto death, even the death on a cross, on a tree. So he laid aside his divine prerogatives. He laid them aside willingly to become man, to die for the sins of man. To do that He also had to willingly separate himself from God the Father for those three hours to fully be your substitute and to pay the price you could not pay.

So that you could experience the forgiveness of sins and live in the presence of Almighty God forever. That is the central issue at Calvary. See, that's what he chose to do. That's what he wanted to do for you and for me. And that's what makes salvation so unbelievable. That he would willingly take in him our sins. And experience that which we can never endure in order that we might go to heaven with Him. Today, make sure you know for certain that Jesus is your Savior.