In recognition of the passion of Christ, I wanted to meditate on the crucifixion and take some time to write about it…
The words that people use in their dying moments are supremely significant. If you only had a few minutes to live, what would you say to your loved ones or to the world? Most good people would probably boil it down to something like, “I love you,” if they only had one thing to say. Though Jesus had hours on the cross to speak, there is very little that he said (at least that is recorded for us), but a good way to summarize it would be, “I love you. I love you all – my family, my friends…my enemies.” Knowing who he was and that he was dying for the sins of all of us makes it so much more significant. Let’s take a look at each of his sayings while he hung on the cross . . .
- “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
As we read the accounts of the crucifixion we are bombarded with the evil and cruelty of the people involved. The Pharisees were inflamed with jealousy over Jesus. Their brutal envy forced them to betray the most innocent blood: and not just any innocent blood: the most gentle, wise, loving, caring prophet, teacher and healer in the land – the Messiah, the Son of God. Judas sold out his Teacher for the price of a slave, betraying him with a kiss. The bloodthirsty Roman soldiers fed off of torturing him. Corrupt, ignorant, vicious Israelites jeered, scoffed and mocked him while he suffered on the cross. Even the other criminals who were crucified next to him laughed at and derided him. This is some pretty evil stuff. It’s one thing when people mistreat you or take advantage of you, but this is people in broad daylight torturing a righteous man and laughing at him over it.
What was Jesus’ response to all of this? “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Jesus prayed for his torturers. He prayed that they would be forgiven; that they would at some point have their eyes opened to the fact that what they were doing was truly evil, and that they would be delivered from being punished for it. Jesus recognized that there were dark forces enslaving these people – bad religion, corrupt teachings, a fallen world, a depraved heart – that molded these people to be filled with hatred. He wasn’t excusing their sins, but in his pity expressed his desire that they would be freed. Jesus could see past their immediate actions to the loving hands of God that created them. Jesus genuinely loved the people who murdered him.
Jesus loves you, my friend. You may not believe in God. You may even mock Jesus like many people do in our society today. You may even hate Jesus, and if given the chance – if you were there 2,000 years ago – you would have joined in with the crowd in gladly crucifying him. Just know that he loves you anyway. He wishes goodwill on you even though you hate him.
Christian, do you love your enemies this way? Jesus’ prayer was answered in your case: you have had your eyes opened. You do understand that Jesus is the Son of God and that he was being nailed to the tree on account of your sins. You have been forgiven by the Father and immeasurably blessed by him. Are you a yielded vessel allowing Jesus to channel that same kind of compassion, love, forgiveness and prayers to those around you? Forgive. Forgive your spouse, your sibling, your parents, your children, your friends and your enemies. Forgive them completely, forever and for everything. Why? Because you have been forgiven the same way.
- “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Jesus was crucified between two criminals. Initially, they both railed on Jesus, but at some unknown point, the one criminal had a change of mind and heart. As the hardened thief was denouncing Jesus, the softened criminal began to rebuke him, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:40-42). What happened to this man? My guess is that he observed the love, compassion and pity of Jesus for the hateful world and it gripped his heart. He saw how confidently Jesus placed his fate in the hands of God and it birthed in him faith that this truly was the Son of God. He believed and was converted! Right there on his cross! He entrusted his life and eternity to Christ. Jesus turned to him and assured him that they would enter into paradise together that day! Wow! What a story!
We see here the eagerness of Jesus to save people. Jesus didn’t justly condemn this man for his crimes. He didn’t remind the criminal that he deserved to die. No, this man already acknowledged that much. Jesus didn’t demand him to become religious or jump through any holy hoops to access grace. Jesus wants one thing and one thing alone – allegiance, loyalty, faith. This lawbreaker courageously identified with Jesus right smack in the face of the world in all of its rage against the true God. I’m sure the crowd got a huge laugh at this interaction. But as they laughed on earth heaven rejoiced! Even in this deepest moment of pain and agony Jesus was bringing another lost sinner home with him!
What a sweet picture – Jesus entering back into glory after his cosmic mission, and who does he bring with him – a condemned criminal, one among the worst on earth! This is representative of who Jesus came to save. He didn’t come to call the “righteous,” but sinners to repentance. This is because there is no one truly righteous on the earth apart from repentance and faith in Jesus. God loves you. He loves the worst of the worst of the worst. He loves those on death row and those guilty of the most vile crimes imaginable. He does not grant us eternal life because we are “good” or religious. People with good standing on earth are not more likely to be accepted by God. Rather, if we love him who took our place on the cross – that is how be gain acceptance with God. We love him and believe in him enough to identify with him who died for us. True faith in Christ is the kind that will die beside him and confess that his crucifixion is our total hope. I hope that you identify with him and that you also will be with him in paradise.
- “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
From noon to 3pm, as Jesus was on the cross, God brought a thick darkness over the land. The darkness during midday was a sign of God’s displeasure and wrath. Jesus was always obedient to his Father, but in those moments on the cross Jesus was absorbing the wrath of God in his body for our sins. “For he (the Father) hath made him (the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). This is the ultimate reason why he said, “My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me.” Jesus didn’t displease the Father, but he was receiving the displeasure of the Father on our behalf. Jesus pleased the Father through being obedient unto death – even the death of the cross. He was forsaken – an eternity of perfect union with the Father – SEVERED – so we could be brought near. Praise God. He was dealt with like a hardened, stone cold, depraved, unrepentant, unremorseful world, so that we could be treated like the beloved, faithful, dignified Son of God!
Another reason Jesus said this on the cross is because he was quoting David from Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (Psalm 22:1). In short, David was in extreme agony because he was being persecuted by his people even though he was righteous. Jesus was identifying with David on the cross when he cried out this phrase.
Praise the Lord that we have a Savior who willingly stood in the way of the wrath of God and man for us! The Bible says that God is angry with our sins every day (Psalm 7:11). He is perfectly Just and has perfect hatred against sin. Jesus – the only one who could fully satisfy God’s righteous rage – went to that cross to take our punishment. Amen. He is our King and Defender against the wrath of man. If we desire to be righteous we will have enemies – even those persecuting us into the name of “god” or “truth” or “love.” Thankfully, Jesus was and is willing to take the shame, ridicule and mockery to cheer us up and encourage us along the way.
- “Woman, behold thy son! . . . Behold thy mother!” John 19:26-27
As his torture was coming to a close we have the last four sayings of Jesus. Before he died there was one last bit of unfinished business he had on the earth. He looks down and sees his mother Mary and standing next to her one of his most beloved disciples, John. As he sees them together, there is a natural recognition that this man would be the one to care for his mother after he left. With the world’s guilty burden on his shoulder he did not forget about his precious mother! He said to Mary, “Behold thy Son!” and then he said to John, “Behold thy mother!” I can imagine both of them looking at each other at that moment, perhaps not knowing everything that this would entail for their futures, but knowing that if Jesus was calling for it, then it must be right.
There are several things going on here in my mind. One thing was that Jesus was entrusting the care of his mother to his disciple. The Scriptures are silent about Mary’s husband Joseph (perhaps he died at some point prior to this?) It seems unlikely that Joseph would never be mentioned again after Jesus’ childhood. Jesus, in caring for his mother, wanted to make sure she would be taken care of by a righteous man. At this point we do not get the impression that Jesus’ brothers were very righteous. So this is very sweet! Amidst all of the chaos of ministry and the pain of torture Jesus didn’t forget to care for those closest to him. He didn’t let rescuing the world take priority over his family. Perhaps at times you feel like no one cares about you? You may be a vulnerable person, such as a widow, or poor or an orphan, or just for whatever reason a lonely, desperate person. Take courage!!! Jesus has not forgotten about you! Yes, he controls the galaxies, making sure they stay on course, and yes, he governs the nations, but he is fully concentrated on your every need as well. He knows how many hairs are on your head. His thoughts towards you cannot be numbered – more than the grains of sand at the beach! There is nothing that will ever separate you from the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But I also see another potential thing happening here. John would care for the mother of Jesus, but perhaps also Mary would care for the disciples of Jesus? He says, “Woman, behold thy Son!” For Jesus’ whole life Mary was unsure and perhaps mystified about who her Son truly was. Even if she understood that he was the Son of God, how could she possibly fully grasp what this meant for her, the world and their future? Mary had the natural motherly impulse to care for her Son, but she also believed in him as her Lord. She was about to lose her Son and her Savior. In the book of Ruth, Naomi went into despair when she lost her husband and sons. Now, here’s Mary losing everything. If the disciples were nervous that their Messiah was dying when he was supposed to reign, imagine how Mary must have felt! I think Jesus was redirecting Mary’s attention to how she could continue to be his Mother after he left. She could now channel her love and passion into serving the body of Christ, which John represented. Mary would be an integral part of the early church. I’m sure she had many opportunities to talk about Jesus to his followers about the glories of his childhood and the early stages of his ministry from her point of view. I’m sure very few other people were smitten so deeply with the love of God when she remembered the crucifixion.
- “I thirst.” (John 19:28)
It is completely understandable that this would come out of the mouth of Jesus on the cross. The dehydration levels were through the roof because of the massive amount of blood loss on top of the crazy amount of physical exertion he experienced beginning the night before. Psalm 22:15 speaks prophetically about this moment, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death” (Psalm 22:15). The thirst was not unique to Jesus among those who were crucified. What was significant about this scene is who it was that became so thirsty. Jesus was (and is) the Son of God. He knew glory, immeasurable and beyond comprehension. Yet we see him here so completely subjected to the frailties of humanity! Have you ever been so thirsty that you were begging for water? It is a very humiliating thing. Yet, because he loved us, he came to take on our humiliation so that we could be exalted. The Fountain of Living Waters became thirsty so that our spiritual thirst could be quenched. “O God, thou art My God; early will I seek thee: My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psalm 63:1). “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” (Augustine, Confessions). Our sins rob us of spiritual vitality, deservedly. God’s holiness is not compelled to nourish a sinful heart. There must be some kind of satisfaction of his justice before he opens the sluice of heavenly blessing. Praise God for the willingness of the only One who could unlock it!
This is such a beautiful statement, as well, on the true nature of Christ. He was totally Human (minus a sinful nature) as is seen here is his thirst. Other places highlight the divinity of Christ, but this one reveals his full humanity. Jesus was conceived in the womb of a woman and had flesh, blood and bones just like we do. He was birthed and breathed the same air we breathe. He got tired, hungry and thirsty. He needed rest and refreshment like we do. The big difference is that he didn’t have to subject himself to these limitations, but he did. He could have stayed in heaven in absolute perfection and limitless satisfaction. He, as God, needed nothing, because he was the source of everything. God never has a Need. However, Jesus willingly laid aside that divine prerogative, so that he could identify with us, suffer and die for us. Now he lives eternally as the God-Man advocating for us as our perfect, compassionate High Priest. He says to you, “I know your thirst: your pain and agony, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Come to me and drink. I paid for it all.”
- “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
No one else has had such a glorious death, ever. At best, the closest parallel that comes to mind is the picture of a war hero who achieves the final victory as they give up their life. Wherever that has happened, it was most likely not willingly, but of necessity. Either way, what is going on here? Why did Jesus say this on the cross at his last moment? It’s clear from the rest of Scripture the whole reason why Jesus came into the world, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus came into the world to give his life as a ransom – a payment for our sins. God’s prescribed way to atone (make amends) for sin is through the shedding of blood, or the giving of a life. “He that sinneth shall die.” “The wages of sin is death.” God demands a life for sins to be forgiven. Jesus – because his life is of great enough value – was able to present it as a sufficient ransom payment for the sins of the whole world. God was satisfied with his offering.
Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).
He said, “It is finished.” What exactly was completed or accomplished? What work had to be done? It was the work of reconciling God and Man. The mission of redemption was being completed, right then and there. As soon as Jesus took his last breath and actually died, sin was PAID IN FULL! There is now nothing left undone in order to reconcile humanity back to God. There are NO works that we need to do in order to access God’s forgiving and saving grace. All we have to do is come and receive the benefits of Christ’s finished work!
Some people say, “It’s all about being good. Be good and hopefully you’ll get in [to heaven].” Yet, this is not at all what the sacrifice of Christ teaches us. The crucifixion teaches us that our sin is ugly and that God hates it – detests it so much that he would deliver his own Son to a tortuous, humiliating death. If all we had to do was “be good” then Jesus died in vain. Why would he go through something so horrific if there was another way? Even Jesus prayed that if there was another way for redemption to be accomplished that it would happen, and because there was no other way he gladly submitted to the Father’s will. The only way to be forgiven and given eternal life is as a free gift from God through faith in Christ. And praise God that gift is available to whosoever will come!!!
What do you believe? How are you situated before God? Are you hoping that your goodness is good enough to gain eternal life? Are you really trusting yourself instead of Christ’s finished work? We either approach God seeking his favor based on our own merits or with no merits at all seeking mercy. We cannot have it both ways. I hope that today you will enjoy the rich pleasure of knowing your sins are forgiven and that your account is forever paid in full through what Jesus did for you!
- “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
The final words of Christ before his last breath was a commitment of his life into the hands of God. The whole life of Jesus had always been dedicated and obedient to the Father, but his last moments were the most difficult and painful. He trusted his Father all the way through.
This statement though, like Psalm 22, is also a quotation from the Old Testament, “Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: For thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth” (Psalm 31:4-). Jesus, again, is identifying himself with David, who was a truly righteous man, but was being persecuted by his people (unrighteous Israelites) and had God alone to depend on.
I like the way Peter words this, “…who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus believed that no matter what mankind did to him it could not overpower the sovereign will and goodness of God. God’s will in an ultimate sense will always be done. God’s Justice will always be satisfied. He will right every wrong in his perfect time. Jesus laid down his life in perfect cooperation with and faith in the Father’s will. Peter was encouraging his readers to follow the example of Jesus. When God calls us to difficult circumstances or to serve difficult people, we must, like Jesus, remember to commit ourselves into the Father’s hands. We must strive to keep the faith and serve in love, knowing that even if mankind ridicules, mocks, or even persecutes us for doing what’s right, God will take notice and make sure to reward us for what we do.
The writer to the Hebrews also touches on this, “…looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus was laid in the tomb, but he did not stay there! The Father justified Jesus within the space of three days by raising him from the dead! Also, the Church was born and prospered in the first century while Jerusalem was burned to the ground, Judaism destroyed and the Jews scattered around the world in exile! Jesus was most certainly justified. The admonition for us is to follow Jesus’ example. Commit your spirit, your soul, your body, your life, your time, to the Father, and regardless of what man does, God will reward you. We must walk by faith and not by sight. Believe that God is stronger than your worst enemies.
Conclusion
“Thank you so much, Lord Jesus, for what you did on the cross. Our whole hope is bound up in you and what you did that day. Give us even deeper hearts of gratitude. Help us to always and only serve you out of a heart of love and gratitude and never be motivated by anything else! Grant us the courage and faith to follow your example: to love and serve a fallen world that may brutally hate us and persecute us. Teach us again the power of your cross- that dying is the way to truly Live. We love you. Be glorified today. May many be converted so that you can receive the reward for your sufferings. Amen.”
Brother Lee 