The Seven Sayings of Christ from the Cross, Part One
This is the week that changed our world!
Martin Carlucci killed Walter Everett’s son. When Carlucci was convicted of manslaughter, the bereaved father forgave Michael. Why would he do that? He explained that people won’t understand why Jesus came and what Jesus is all about unless we forgive.
ONE:
As we begin the countdown of the week that changed our world, I’m going to post some thoughts on the seven sayings of Christ from the cross. After the 6 stages of the sham trial, Jesus was scourged, mocked, spit upon, and beaten then taken to the place of the skull where his hands and feet were nailed to a cross. Lifted up in agony, he said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
What did Jesus mean? He is praying to the Father as Isaiah 53:12 predicted, “He will makeintercession for the transgressors.” And who were those transgressors? The Pharisees who plotted his death, the mob who cried for his crucifixion, Pilate who washed his hands of his guilt, and the Roman soldiers whose unfeeling cruelty nailed him to the cross. Yes, but who else? Peter at Pentecost accused the whole audience of crucifying the Lord of glory. (Acts. 3:13-15,17) Peter knew what all honest sinners know. We crucified him, you and I! Yes, it was the Jews. Yes, it was the Romans. But he was delivered by the counsel of God to pay the penalty for our sins and because of the rebellion and guilt of individuals from all races of people.
One of the great misunderstandings of Scripture which led to a horrific historical crime was that of the mediaeval church labelling and persecuting Jews as, “Christ killers.” Hitler took up this horrendous twisting of history. No! No! a thousand times, no! “He bore our sins.” “He died for our sins, English, African, Asian, Mexican, French. It was our guilt that sent him to the cross.
Jesus also prayed for forgiveness because “they do not know,” what they are doing. The Pharisees knew the injustice of their charge. The mob among whom many had relatives healed, knew this was a travesty of justice. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. But none knew the enormity of their crime…as so few on this Easter week know the magnitude of what happened. It was the crucifixion of the LORD of glory, the Son of God, the eternal creator of the world who laid aside His divine prerogatives to come as the Son of Man, our Saviour. What does this first saying mean for you and me? Three things; I desperately need forgiveness for my sins, no matter how great my sin, I can be forgiven, and I must forgive others. I confessed my sins to Jesus when I was 19 and I was forgiven. You can be too!
TWO:
The world is full of mysteries. Out in the desert near the town where we worked in Pakistan stood a lonely, crumbling tower, Pattan Minara. It was all that remained of a city by the Rajputs from over 1500 years ago. But even more mysterious, it stood on a thick mound of shards from an earlier city of the Indus Civilization that existed well over 3500 years ago. The writing from that mysterious Indus civilization has never been deciphered.
But greater than all other mysteries is that of life after death and why the giver of life should die upon a cross to secure for us this eternal life. Jesus was crucified at 9:00 in the morning. Beside him two thieves were also crucified to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12, “He was numbered with the transgressors.” At first both of them, although guilty, joined others in mocking him and challenging him to come down from the cross.
Then one thief recognized the innocence of Jesus and cried to his robber companion; “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.” And to Jesus he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
One thief is penitent and one impenitent. The penitent thief repents of his sins; that is, he has a spiritual change of mind. He confesses his guilt and cries out to Jesus for mercy. His repentance has led him to a changed attitude toward Christ as well. He now believes that Jesus is sinless, that his death is not the end for he will return, that he is able to forgive sins [he heard Jesus first word], and he realizes that Jesus has a kingdom of which he is a Lord.
In response, Jesus utters his second word from the cross. “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)
Note that Jesus alone has the ability to ensure our destiny. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 19:27,28). Note also that our destiny can be settled immediately, NOW. There is no soul sleep, no slumbering in dark places of gloom until the day of judgement. Upon death, believers go immediately into the presence of Jesus Christ. Note thirdly that the place repentant believers go is called Paradise which is a word from Persian meaning “garden.” At death believers in Jesus pass into a place of indescribable beauty, peace and tranquility—with Jesus.
Pink tells us: “This thief was saved at the final hour of his life to show us that this is possible; But he is the only case of this happening to show us it is unlikely”. God can work in spite of there being no preaching, no meeting, no baptism, no time to grow in grace—but this is very unlikely. Beware lest we wait until it is too late to get right with Christ. Be saved today! No one is beyond mercy!
Three men shared death upon a hill,
But only one man died;
The other two—
A thief and God Himself—
Made rendezvous.
Three crosses still
Are borne up Calvary’s Hill,
Where Sin still lifts them high;
Upon the one, sag broken men
Who, cursing, die;
Another holds the praying thief,
Or those who, penitent as he,
Still find the Christ
Beside them on the tree.”
(Miriam LeFevre Crouse.)
THREE:
Some estimate that 45% of all Baby Boomers will become CARE-GIVERS as their parents age. And yet the pandemic restricted the access many had to those from their families in retirement homes and care facilities. Fortunately, in many cases nurses, doctors and care-givers took up the slack. Sadly, many of those became burnt out with the intensity of their duties and now we have a huge shortage of care-givers. With restrictions eased, society needs to recover family visitation and care. If our societies are to work, rather than crash into chaos, we should seek a revival of the God-ordained function of loving families. Good Friday has something to say here.
Below the cross the soldiers were gambling for Jesus’ clothing. But from agony-dimmed eyes upon the cross, Jesus spied his mother among the group of women gathered to lament his death. He also spied one disciple. All the others had fled. To his mother he said, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to John he said, “Here is your mother,” indicating that John should care for his mother. “From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26,27).
Loving compassion for all was a hallmark of Jesus’ ministry—and even in his death. In dying for our sins, he still arranged care for his mother through John since his own siblings were not believers. Note his special love for John. Note also the central role of women in the life and death of Christ. Do we grant women today the honour they deserve? Note the absence of men. How many times have men failed and continue to fail to demonstrate the faithfulness and courage needed to extend the kingdom? Men, we must gather at the cross.
But the abiding lesson of Jesus’ third word from the cross is that we must care for our relatives–especially our immediate family–our children, our parents, our grandparents. Failure to care for our immediate family shows a failure to grasp an elementary truth of the Christian faith. It is essential to obeying the 5th of the ten commandments. Even unbelievers care for their relatives. Consider the care Asians render to their aged. Can we who follow Christ, of whatever culture, do less? In the home-going of Mary Helen, my wife, I was very fortunate in this regard.
FOUR:
Have you ever heard the cry of a lost child in a mall, “Mommy!!” Or witnessed the anguish of a wife abandoned by her husband. Many of us, like myself, have wept over the death of a spouse. But none of us can really relate to The FOURTH CRY OF CHRIST FROM THE CROSS. It was a cry of abandonment. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matt. 27:46)?
From noon to three pm, darkness descended on the whole land accentuating Jesus’ agony. Luther and Calvin comment that during those three hours, Jesus endured the torments of the damned, the worst of which was his separation from the Father.
As expressed by the hymn writer;
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in
When Christ the mighty maker died
For man the creature’s sin.
The central question that echoes through history is WHY? And the simple answer is that Jesus endured SEPARATION for you and me, so we would not have to endure eternal separation in hell from God and all that is good and beautiful. Sin always leads to separation. The sin of adultery in a marriage often leads to separation between husband and wife. Crimes against the laws of society lead to separation from society in jail. Sins against God lead to separation from God in hell.
Why did Jesus endure this? Because his suffering is SUBSTITUTIONARY. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). “He hath made him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Why? Because his suffering provides SATISFACTION of divine justice. Our society seems to believe in fairy tales. That as a nation we deserve something for nothing. We have a right to what we need even if we don’t work. We have a right to become a millionaire if we buy a lottery ticket. The government can spend more than they take in. We can raise wonderful children without discipline. Non-Christian religions believe the same. The gods can be appeased with candles and offerings and incantations.
But God, the Judge of all earth is Just in upholding the standards of divine law. Our sins provoke the wrath of God leading to punishment for our sins. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men” (Rom. 1:15). “All of us are…children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). We are all under condemnation but “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son” as the atonement or satisfaction for our sins. (John 3:16).
In the cross, God is both just in upholding his law and justifying all who receive Christ as their Saviour. As Christ bore our sins in agony on the cross, God turned his back on his Son so he could forgive us through grace. Because Christ satisfied divine justice, we can receive forgiveness. Although we receive this grace freely, it is not cheap. Such a cost!
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