Intro>D. M. Stearns was preaching in Philadelphia. At the close of the service a stranger came up to him and said, “I don’t like the way you speak of the cross. I think that instead of emphasizing the death of Christ, it would be far better to preach Jesus as our teacher and our example.” Dr. Stearns replied, “So you think that if we presented Christ that way, as a teacher and example, that you would be better able to follow Him?” “I certainly word,” the man responded. Dr. Stearns told him, “All right then, let’s take the first step: Jesus did no sin. Can you claim that for yourself?” The man looked confused and somewhat surprised. “Why, no,” he said. “I acknowledge that I do sin.” Dr. Stearns then told him, “Then your greatest need is to have a Savior, not just as an example!”
-The good news for us is that Jesus provided us with both a great example and at the same time taught some of His greatest lessons while He was dying for us...teaching us with His final words...His words spoken from the cross.
-Today, in the conclusion of a message we began last week, I want us to look at the final words, the final statements of Jesus, statements spoken while He was on the cross.
-I want to ask you to open a Bible and turn to a passage you might find a little strange, considering we’re looking at a New Testament event...I want you to turn to Psalm 22.
-In each of the four statements we’ll examine today, we’ll discover there was an irony.
-We‘ll also see how many did or do misunderstand the words He spoke.
-And we’ll focus our attention on some practical applications of His words in our lives.
<>Let’s look at Jesus’ final words...
1) WORDS OF AFFIRMATION.
--Mk.15:33-34 -- "And when the sixth hour (noon) had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour (3pm). And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ’Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ’MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’”
->The irony: Here we see God the Son somehow being separated from God the Father!
--Do I understand all of that? No. However, when we understand what was really going on, we’ll see that His statement was actually about something else.
->His actual words: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,” which is Aramaic, meaning “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
->The misunderstanding: Some in the crowd were thinking maybe Elijah was about to show up...again confusing the Messiah’s second coming with His first.
--In fact, on the night before the Jews had celebrated the Passover meal, which involved at the beginning sending out a young male child to check and see if Elijah was showing up.
--So, they had Elijah on their minds to start with.
->But the true meaning of His words was something else: It’s BIBLE STUDY TIME!
--You see, long before the Guttenberg press had been invented, enabling the mass printing of books, particularly the Bible, the Biblical scrolls were hand-written, copied by scribes.
---It was a long, painstaking achievement.
--Consequently, almost nobody owned their own copy of any of the books of the Bible.
---Even the synagogues were in possession of only the Torah (the first 5 books) and perhaps a scroll of Isaiah, and maybe one of the Psalms.
--So, the Jewish boys memorized the entire Old Testament (which was the whole Bible of their day, since the New Testament hadn’t been written before Jesus’ coming to the earth as Messiah).
--And, when it came time to study the Bible, the teacher would call out a passage of Scripture, as a starting place, and then the rest of the folks would begin reciting out loud the verses that followed where the teacher had begun.
--That’s what Jesus was doing here!**
->Look at Psalm 22.
--How does it begin?... "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
<>Jesus was affirming His identity as the One sent from God...the Anointed One...the Messiah.
--But He was teaching the crowd how He was fulfilling the prophecies of Psalm 22...a prophetic psalm about the Suffering Servant.
--He was calling out the beginning of the chapter and asking them to use their eyes and see how what was going on around them that day was proof, an affirmation that Jesus was indeed the One sent from God the Father.
<>Look at what Psalm 22 describes...
--v. 7 -- "All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, ’Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in Him.’"
---The crowd was jeering Jesus, saying, “If You’re really the Messiah, come on down from there! If God is really pleased with You, let Him now deliver you!” Even the thief on Jesus’ left was saying, “If You are the Messiah, deliver Yourself, and us too.”
---Fortunately for us, Jesus didn’t come down off the cross, even though He could have.
---He loved us so much, He stayed on the cross to make the full payment for our sin.
---He willingly stayed on the cross and died, so we might live.
--v.14 -- "I am poured out like water..."
---In just a few moments a soldier would jab a spear up into Jesus’ rib cage, and puncture Jesus’ pericardium, resulting in blood and water pouring out.
--v.14 -- "And all my bones are out of joint;"
---One of the details of a crucifixion involved knocking the person’s knee out of joint so the person couldn’t put weight on his leg and lift himself up to get a deep breath.
--v.15 -- "My strength is dried up like a potsherd."
---Jesus was buff. He had worked in Joseph’s carpentry business, lugging huge limbs around, bringing them back to the shop. He walked everywhere He went. He was strong, He was in shape.
---And yet, on the day He died He fell beneath the load of a single crossbeam.
---Why? Because His muscles had been torn away by the whipping He had received from the cat of nine tails.
---His strength was nearly non-existent.
--v.15 -- "And my tongue cleaves to my jaws:"
---In just a moment Jesus is going to speak of being thirsty.
--v.15 -- "And you have laid me in the dust of death."
---Another of the details of a crucifixion is that they would lay the person down on the ground (in the dust), place them on the cross while lying down, nail them to it, then lift the cross up to an erect position.
--v.16 -- "For dogs have surrounded me."
---This one has a double meaning:
---->“Dogs” here refers primarily to Gentiles, which is what the Roman soldiers were who were surrounding, guarding the crucifixion site.
---->But researchers have discovered that also at crucifixions wild dogs would frequently be present, licking up the blood, and snacking on the bugs that accumulate at the foot of the crosses, where the blood would fall.
--v.16 -- "A band of evildoers has encompassed me;"
---Jesus was crucified between two thieves, two evildoers.
--v.16 -- "They pierced my hands and my feet."
---Remarkably, this Psalm was written more than 900 years before Roman crucifixions had come into existence.
---Only the Holy Spirit could have inspired the Psalmist to speak of the Suffering Servants hands and feet being pierced, as Jesus’ hands and feet were with the spikes driven through them when the Roman soldiers hung Him on a cross.
--v.17 -- "I can count all my bones."
---The way a cat of nine tails operated was that the whip of nine cords with bone chips and pieces of metal on the ends would wrap around the person being whipped, so that the chips would grab hold of the skin and muscles, and when the whipping person would yank on the whip at the close of each stroke, tearing away skin and muscles, revealing the rib cage and other skeletal bones of the person being whipped.
---Consequently, Jesus’ rib cage, perhaps the bones of His back, and more than likely even some of His internal organs would be exposed.
--v.18 -- "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."
---Right before Jesus made this statement of affirmation, He had witnessed the Roman soldiers begin to cast lots for His one possession, His seamless robe.
---We talked about it last week, but only one person in Judaism was allowed to wear a seamless robe...the High Priest.
---And traditionally the High Priest’s robe was made / fashioned by his mother.
---It’s why Jesus had spoken right before this to John, telling John to take Mary to his (John’s) home, to take her away from the cross.
----Her heart was breaking as she saw these brutal soldiers determining that one of them would take to his own home the precious garment she had made for her Son.
<>The point is that Jesus was trying to teach the crowd a prophetic truth: He IS Who He said He was, and the events the crowd was watching that afternoon was a testimony to that, affirming the fact.
<>How it applies to our lives:
--a) When we come to the Bible with an open mind, with no pre-conceived notions, God’s words will speak truth to us...and the Bible will prove itself to be THE truth.
---You see, one of the remarkable truths about the Bible, and one of the attesting divine quality of Scripture is that every part of Scripture agrees with every other part of Scripture.
----Regardless of the fact that portions of the Scriptures were written some 1,400 years apart, and some 40 different penmen were involved in writing down the words, there is and was only ONE AUTHOR...the Holy Spirit.
----And, as a result, the Scriptures are inerrant, cohesive, and consistent.
--b) Jesus is the much-prophesied, and long-awaited Messiah.
---Jesus fulfilled the prophecies regarding the Messiah because He IS Who the Bible says He is...He is GOD...God in flesh.
---He’s our Messiah, our Savior, our sacrifice, who suffered just as Psalm 22 said He would.
---QUOTE: I cam across this quote the other day, by a person you might be surprised to hear it came from (maybe not)..."Meaning no disrespect to the religious convictions of others, I still can’t help wondering how we can explain away what to me is the greatest miracle of all and which is recorded in history. No one denies there was such a man, that he lived and that he was put to death by crucifixion. Where...is the miracle I spoke of? Well, consider this and let your imagination translate the story into our own time--possibly to your own home town. A young man whose father is a carpenter grows up working in his father’s shop. One day he puts down his tools and walks out of his father’s shop. He starts preaching on street corners and in the nearby countryside, walking from place to place, preaching all the while, even though he is not an ordained minister. He does this for three years. Then he is arrested, tried, and convicted. There is no court of appeal, so he was executed at the age of 33 along with two common thieves. Those in charge of his execution roll dice to see who gets his clothing, the only possessions he has. His family can’t afford a burial place for him so he is interred in a borrowed tomb. End of story? No, this uneducated, propertyless young man who...left no written word has, for two thousand years, had a greater effect on the world than all the presidents, rulers, kings, emperors; all the conquerors, generals, and admirals; all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who have ever lived...all of them put together. How do we explain that...unless he really was who he said he was?"
----The person who said these words: Ronald Reagan.
2) WORDS OF AGONY.
--Jn.19:28 -- "After this, Jesus knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ’I AM THIRSTY.’”
---ILL>At one point in Julius Caesar’s political career, feelings ran against him so high he thought it best to leave Rome. He sailed for the Aegean island of Rhodes, but en route the ship was attacked by pirates and Caesar was captured. The pirates demanded a ransom of 12,000 gold pieces, and Caesar’s staff was sent away to arrange the payment. Caesar spent almost 40 days with his captors, jokingly telling them on several occasions that he would someday capture and crucify them to a man. The kidnappers were greatly amused, but when the ransom was paid and Caesar was freed, the first thing he did was gather a fleet and pursue the pirates. They were captured and crucified...to a man! That’s how the Romans viewed crucifixion...it was reserved for the worst of criminals, a means of showing extreme contempt for the condemned. The suffering and humiliation of a Roman crucifixion were unequaled.
->The irony: Here we find the giver of Living Water experiencing thirst!
->The misunderstanding involved: Jesus’ thirst was not primarily physical.
--The soldiers ended up bringing Jesus sour vinegar on a stick.
---They did it to be purposely mean to Him.
---I know when I’m thirsty, drinking some sour vinegar is NOT what I have in mind!
->The true meaning behind His words...
---He was experiencing the dryness, the pain, the suffering of sin.
---He was “tasting” the pain, the unquenchable thirst of hell.
---It was here that the full weight of our sin was pressed, hammered upon Him and He “tasted” it for us.
---It was here, not after His death, that He experienced hell for each of us.
----There is a famous confession of faith that proclaims that Jesus went to hell after His death, walking around and preaching to the souls there.
----However, if you examine the passage of Scripture they base that idea on, you discover that it says He did so “in the days of Noah.”
----In other words, He was speaking to the folks through Noah, during the years when Noah was the only righteous man on earth.
----Day after day Noah was trying to warn the inhabitants of the world of God’s impending wrath, but they didn’t listen, and ended up in hell after the flood came and destroyed all mankind except those in the ark with Noah.
----There is no way that Jesus would go walking around hell, basically thumbing His nose at the souls who are there for eternity.
----It would be totally out of character for Him to go and say, “Told you so!” to these who are suffering.
-----Jesus WEPT for the lost condition of the Jerusalemites...He doesn’t wish that any would perish.
->Jesus was in agony.
--It was excruciating, and it was only His love that kept Him there...His love demonstrated toward us.
<>How it applies to our lives:
--a) Just like we sang earlier, the nails in His hands, the nail in His feet tell us that He loves us.
--b) Next time we experience tough times, we can remember: Jesus has experienced pain and suffering, and He understands!
---He hurts along with us.
3) WORDS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.
--Jn.19:30 -- "When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, ’IT IS FINISHED!’ And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit."
->The irony: What many would view as a failure (after all, He was slowly dying), He was proclaiming a victory!
->The misunderstanding: This time it’s a current-day misunderstanding.
--Many seem to want to ignore His accomplishment, saying there’s still some work that WE must do to “earn” or “keep” our salvation.
->The true meaning behind His words...**
---He has completely taken care of paying the penalty for our sin.
---Love’s redeeming work is done! ... Nothing else is needed!
---That means there is no Purgatory needed...no need to light candles or pray for the dead.
----Obviously, the thief on the cross would have had to spend some time in Purgatory after having been a death-guilty thief, but Jesus assured the thief he would be with Jesus in Paradise that same day!
---It means baptism is not required.
----Obviously, Jesus didn’t require baptism in the case of the thief on the cross, did He?
---No, simply yielding our wills to His will, turning from our sin to faith and trust in Christ alone, we discover that “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
---All we need to do is ACCEPT that Jesus’ death was as our substitute...He paid the penalty FOR us.
<>How it applies to our lives:
--If we’ve accepted Jesus’ payment as OUR payment...that what He did was substitutionary for us...then we can rest confidently, knowing that our eternity is secure.
--Love’s redeeming work is done!
---ILL>Watchman Nee tells of a new convert who came to him in deep distress. The man told Nee, "No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I’m losing my salvation." Nee responded: "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Over there in his bedroom is my son, a baby boy. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He died. We are Christ’s heirs, not through our perfection, but by means of His grace."
4) WORDS OF ALLEGIANCE.
--Lk.23:46 -- "Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ’FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.’”
->The irony: At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry the Trinity is clearly seen at His baptism: the voice of the Father, the Spirit descending in the form of a dove, and Jesus the Son being baptized. Now here at His death we see the Son dying, speaking to the Father, and surrendering His Spirit.
<>How it applies to our lives...
--Jesus had been obedient and had submitted to the Father’s will all through His time on earth.
---Now He’s trusting the Father with completing the transaction that would bring Him back, resurrect Him after His death.
-->It is the same thing WE need to do today:
-->We need to submit, surrender our wills to the Father’s, trusting Him with our future, with our present.
-->We need to take our hands off the steering wheel and let God’s perfect plan for our life unfold.
<>Bringing It Home...
->Every words Jesus spoke from the cross had one message: He loves us.
--It’s why He prayed for the Father to forgive us.
--It’s why He guaranteed a repentant and trusting criminal that the criminal would be in Paradise with Him.
--It’s why He got His mother away from the cross and demonstrated His love for and trust in John in asking John to take Mary to his own home, away from the cross.
--It’s why He brought the crowd’s and our attention to Psalm 22.
--It’s why He experienced the pain, suffering, dryness of hell, but stayed on the cross rather than coming down and relieving His own pain.
--It’s why He finished the task...and why He died, handing over His Spirit to the Father.
-And He did it all for us.
<>Today, keep in mind...no one loves you more than He does.
-->You can trust Him with whatever you’re facing.
<>The questions to answer today:
-->ARE you trusting Him with what you’re going through?
-->WILL you trust Him now?
