Word #5: Distress

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
(John 19:28)

God Himself experienced thirst. There is no way for a human mind to comprehend this truth. It would be impossible to overestimate how profound the these two words are. In order to shed some light on just how devastatingly beautiful that statement is, let’s look at three things that we learned from the very beginning of the book of John.

1) Christ Was in the Beginning With God

John 1:1 begins by telling us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with     God.” We know that when John says “the Word,” he is talking about Christ, because he says in verse 14 of the very same chapter, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Christ was in the beginning with God. His life did not begin when Mary conceived–His flesh did. As long as there has been God, there has also been Christ.

2) Christ Was God

It is not only true that He was in the beginning with God, but Jesus Christ was Himself God. This is why verse one of John 1 ends with, “and the Word was God.” The man on the cross was certainly a man (we know this because of “And the Word became flesh), but He was not merely a man. Jesus Christ was and is God, and He has been God since eternity past, and He will be God for eternity.

3) Christ Is the Creator of All Things

The man who died on the cross was not merely a man. Neither was He merely a God. Jesus Christ is the God–the one by whom all things were created, and the one in whom there is life. This is why John 1:3-4 says, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” There is only one who creates, and there is only one in whom there is life. Christ is the one and only creator God.

The eternal Son thirsts

So, the life of Christ did not begin when He took on flesh on earth. In fact, He was, is, and will be God Himself, the creator of all things, and the only giver of life. Christ was, is, and will be very, very big, and very, very powerful. This is the man who was dying on the cross: He was God, He was eternal, and He was the very source of all life and existence. Now, with this in mind, let us revisit what He said:

“I thirst.”

These two words are no small thing. These two words are God Himself submitting Himself to taking on humanity. What’s more, this is God Himself submitting Himself to need and pain. God put Himself in the way of distress, and He did it because of love.

The cross is not a fairy tale, and it is far from cute. The real God, who created the real heavens and the real earth, and breathed real life into your real body, and continues to keep you alive, bore this world. He bore pain. He bore suffering. And He experienced thirst. Why?

It was for His children.

Because He loves them.

God loves His children enough to experience distress on their behalf.

What is your response to this? We should love Him as grateful children. Look upon Him and see that He is mighty, and powerful, and full of love.

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Word #4: Anguish

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
(Matthew 27:46)

As Jesus hung on the cross a great darkness fell over the land, and the Son of God cried out to the father in agony. This loud cry according to the text would have been a literal scream expressing pain and discomfort of incomprehensible magnitude.

Often Jesus is thought of as a model for how to endure suffering. In movies, the physical sufferings of Jesus are on display. The phrase “take up our cross” has been used by Christians identifying with Christ’s suffering as an example of how to persevere through their own suffering. Even religious leaders of other faiths have acknowledged Jesus as an example of how to endure hardship and persecution as a suffering servant.

Why is the suffering of Christ unique?

But while Christ’s crucifixion portrayal as a suffering servant is an example of humility, is that all it is? A question that must be asked about the cross in our day is this. Why is the crucifixion significant to us? What was unique about Christ’s suffering, when he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? If countless other religious leaders and political figures have died martyr’s deaths, dying for something they believed in, why is Jesus’ suffering on the cross any different?

Crucifixion was so ghastly that a word was invented to describe the pain – excruciating, which literally means, “from the cross.”^[i] After enduring such pain, he was silent before his executioners, fulfilling the scriptures. (Isa. 53:7) Why was it that 6 hours after hanging on the cross he finally cried out to God?

The uniqueness of Christ’s suffering was that he absorbed the wrath of God. While the physical pain Jesus experienced was extreme, it was the wrath of God upon him that was the most unbearable.

While Jesus was fully man, he was also fully God and had existed eternally, before the foundations of the earth as God the Son. The greatest love story in the history of the world preexisted time in the perfect love expressed in the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit loved each other perfectly, for eternity, but when darkness fell over the land that day, the Father turned his back on Christ. At that moment in time, the son felt removed from this intimate bond of love. To feel cut off from this relationship was devastating.

Penal Substitutionary Atonement

The work that Christ’s shed blood accomplished for us on the cross is often referred to as Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus was experiencing the wrath of God for sin that should have rightly been poured out on sinners like us. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”

And so Christ took upon himself the penalty as our substitute. The result is that forgiven sinners once separated from God are now “at one” with God. This is the essential meaning that the word “atonement” captures.

Martin Luther called this moment the “Great Exchange,”^[ii] in which our sin, and the wrath of God, was placed on Christ as our substitute; as a result, through personal faith in what Christ accomplished, the curse of our sin and deserved punishment has been replaced with Christ’s perfect righteousness given to us! (2 Cor. 5:21)

Why is the cross significant? Christ didn’t just suffer as a moral example for us to follow – he bore our sin, paid for our sin, and has freed us from the curse he took on!

The accomplishment of Christ’s suffering isn’t just theological however. It is a reality that has profound implications for our life! When we face suffering or feel alone, we can take comfort knowing that Christ understands our pain and identifies with our loneliness. When we suffer, we are reminded that he suffered greater. When we feel alone, we know that he was alone in a way we never have been. Because he bore our sin and was alone, we will never, ever be alone in Christ Jesus!

When Christ cried out to the Father, he quoted the words of King David in Psalm 22.

Psalm 22:1-11

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.

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(HT: Luke on Vimeo)

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Word #3: Relationship

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”
(John 19:26-27)

The work of Christ on the Cross absolutely redefines our relationships. It changes how and why we relate to our family, and it changes who we relate to as family.

It Changes How and why We Relate to Our Family

We relate to our biological family first in a biological way. There is a bond that we feel based primarily on the fact that we share DNA. As time passes by, and we develop a family history, we begin to relate to our family based on shared experiences as well. We relate based on what we like, what we don’t like, and what we know about each other. For our biological family, the main things that tie us together are our blood and our shared history. Jesus changes this. Now we relate to our family, not based on our own blood, but based on the fact that we have all been washed by His. Now we relate to our family, not based on the experience that we have had together, but based on the fact that we have all experienced salvation. Because of the cross, my relationships are no longer based on myself, or any other person, but on Christ.

It Changes Who We Relate to As Family

This is the message that blares most loudly from these verses. “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold, your mother!” John was not Mary’s son, and Mary was not John’s mother! Our relationships change at the cross, because we change at the cross. We are born again into spiritual life, and we gain spiritual mothers and sons. Christ was not saying that Mary bore John, He was saying that there was to be a mother-son bond between that was spiritually based. When you become a Christian, you have a spiritual family. That family is closer to you than any DNA or any experience could ever make you. The Christian relates to Christians as family.

Christ Is Redeeming His Bride Into One Body

This is a call, directly from Christ, for Christians to care for Christians. The Church is not to leave the Church to die! The Church must care about the Church! It is not an option. Christ did not say, “Woman, behold the man who you could, if it pleases you, consider to be, and provide for as, your son.” He did not say, “Behold, a woman who, if she is not too difficult, could be loved and cared for by you as a son ought to love and care for his mother.” Mary and John were commanded to love and provide for one another as a mother and a son would love and provide for one another.

Every Christian is called to new relationship

Let us remember this call to love and care for the Church. Just as in the book of Acts, we see the Church share with one another as they could, and no one was in need, so we ought to act. Not when it is easy. Not for people who we want to love. But for the whole church, all the time, however we can. Every Christian is called to love every other Christian, and to care for God’s Church, the bride of Christ, in any way possible.

Christ has changed our relationships. He has changed who we relate to, why we relate to them, and how we ought to relate. He is changing me from someone who seeks to use people for selfish gain, to someone who loves His church, and uses his resources to bless her. Let us consider this, and be changed by the implications of what Christ said about our relationships as he hung on the cross.

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Word #2 : Salvation

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:42-43)

When Christ was hung on the cross in the ultimate act of humiliation as creator of the universe, hanging in the company of two criminals, the bloodthirsty onlookers who stood by watching the gruesome spectacle taunted our king saying, “If you are the son of God, come down from the cross.” Jesus said nothing to them. When the soldiers mocked Jesus, he said nothing in response to their hostile challenges either. The religious leaders who prided themselves in their moral perfectionism said sarcastically, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” Jesus said nothing to them either. Even one of the criminals who was dying along side him had the audacity to bitterly insult Jesus, though Jesus hadn’t done any wrong to him, or anyone else for that matter. But there was one person that the King chose to respond to, and yet he had no obligation to answer to anyone as the King of creation.

In this scene, a man who committed crimes worthy of receiving the most severe earthly punishment got a response from the King in his last hours. And Jesus responds with the comforting words of assurance and forgiveness that we know so well. To know without a doubt, in those final moments of life, that he would be forever united to his creator in fellowship must have been such sweet words to hear. Wouldn’t you agree?

The free gift of salvation leads us to worship

This passage contains one of the most poignant presentations of the gospel. And this gospel of good news for all Christians should overwhelm us with joy and overflowing worship to Jesus! The gospel is the life blood of our faith because everything we do and everything we believe finds its relevance and meaning in our lives through the person and work of Christ on the cross for our sin.

Our hearts should be overflowing with joy in Christ. But are they? In our lives, we aren’t always in love with the gospel of grace. Whether we’ve received the gospel, or we’ve outright denied it, there’s something else going on here that Luke’s gospel captures, pointing to a question that is begging to be asked.

Why does Jesus let a rotten criminal into his kingdom? How can a good God forgive the worst of people for their sin, and send seemingly good people to hell?

Christ’s words show us that unless we understand how outrageous God’s grace is, our hearts will not truly embrace the gospel.

There are two aspects to God’s grace that we can focus on in this encounter between Jesus and the criminal.

1. Grace reveals our total inability to save ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

What man can do on his own enough good to earn a right relationship with God? When we read from the book of Romans about our sin, who deserves God’s favor if all are guilty of sin before a holy God? Romans 3:10-11 says: “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

2. Grace can be responded to in two ways. We either deny the gospel, or we embrace it.

As we look back again to those who mocked and taunted Jesus, they represent two ways we still deny the God’s grace today. The first thief on the cross said, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” We deny the gospel when we are like a fool who says there is no God, but we also deny the gospel when we assume like religious people that we are deserving and basically good. When Christ accepted the criminal into his Kingdom, he shattered worldly expectation.

The second response to the gospel, is to identify with the criminal, recognizing our own sin and total inability to earn God’s favor, and turn to Jesus and receive his payment on the cross for our sin. The second criminal demonstrates one of the most powerful examples of faith in scripture, and what one must do to enter the Kingdom. He repents through his change of mind about his sin, and in faith, he believes that Christ is the King, the sent Messiah who came to deliver his people.

The way, the truth, the life

What a powerful miracle God enacts in his people when in our darkness, Christ by his sovereign grace calls us into his marvelous light. Truly, those in Christ will be in paradise.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

(John 14:1-6)

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And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

(Mark 15:33-38)

Lord Jesus, Comfort Me

You have canceled my transgression,
Jesus, by Your precious blood
May I find therein salvation,
happiness, and peace with God
And since You for sinner’s suffering
On the cross was made an offering
From all sin deliver me,
That I wholly Yours may be

All the pain You have endured
All Your wounds, Your crown of thorn
Hands and feet with nails through bored
The reproach which You have borne
Your back, ploughed with deep furrows
Cross and grave and all Your sorrows
Your blood-sweat and agony
Oh Lord Jesus, comfort me

Your back, ploughed with deep furrows
Cross and grave and all Your sorrows
Your blood-sweat and agony
Oh Lord Jesus, comfort me

from the album WATCH THE RISING DAY
Written by Matthew S. Smith
©2010 Detuned Radio Music
Based in part on a German hymn text by Johann Rist

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Word #1: Forgiveness

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”
(Luke 23:34)

Jesus Christ, the God-man, committed the most scandalously humble act in human history: he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born as a man who was obedient to the point of death—slaughtered by his own creation (Philippians 2:7-8). Try to wrap your mind around that one.

What’s even more scandalous is that man was so proud to have done it. Sin blinded our eyes to the beauty of this Christ. And those who hated him cried, “Crucify him!!!” again and again. They would not settle for any ordinary death; it had to be one of intense suffering and shame. As Jesus—an innocent man—hung there, he opened his lips not to curse his oppressors but to plead with the Father on their behalf.

The root of man’s need

A.W. Pink said it well:

The first important lesson which all need to learn is that we are sinners, and as such, unfit for the presence of a Holy God. It is in vain that we select noble ideals, form good resolutions, and adopt excellent rules to live by, until the sin-question has been settled. It is of no avail that we attempt to develop a beautiful character and aim to do that which will meet with God’s approval while there is sin between him and our souls. Of what use are shoes if our feet are paralyzed. Of what use are glasses if we are blind. The que4stion of the forgiveness of my sins is basic, fundamental, vital. It matters not that I am highly respected by a wide circle of friends if I am yet in my sins. It matters not that I have made good in business if I am an unpardoned transgressor in the sight of God. What w will matter most in the hour of death is, Have my sins been put away by the Blood of Christ?

The grounds of forgiveness

Every single one us us is born dead in our sins (Ephesians 2) and without life. There is no one perfect. Because of this sinful nature, you and I cannot justify ourselves before God. We can try, but we will fall short, every one of us. And guess what. God would still be a good God if he left us in this state, ushering each of us to suffer under his righteous wrath. The only ground on which a Holy God will forgive sins is this: One had to satisfy his good and righteous wrath in our place. And One did. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. Through him, we have the forgiveness of sins.

“It is finished.”

Divine forgiveness is complete forgiveness. It is not half-hearted. It is not in need of additional labor or recompense. We don’t need to purify in purgatory. We don’t have anything to add to this free gift of salvation. It is finished.

If you are reading this tonight as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then rejoice! Rejoice in the forgiveness of God which you have received through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

You are completely and eternally forgiven!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,t he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
(Romans 8:1-4)

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Introduction

The series is inspired from a liturgy dating back to the 16th century called “The Seven Last Words of Christ.” Arranged as a Lent service, the worship service was conducted in a solemn, reverential manner in which candles lighting the room were extinguished in a progression to nearly complete darkness at the conclusion of the seventh reading. Last year my church ran with this idea for Good Friday, and I was extremely pleased with how high Christ’s transcendence was lifted up, and yet brought so personally close. Such a beautiful portrait of Christ on the cross.

The idea behind this series is to put together a powerful gospel presentation, preparing our hearts and minds in a natural progression of building anticipation and hunger for the glory of Jesus Christ, the God-Man, in the blog posts throughout the week of Easter.

We live in a time where it is as relevant as ever for God’s people to have an accurate theology of the Cross. It is my prayer that we will all be drawn near to the pre-eminent Christ and the significance of his work through this very real and up-close presentation of the gospel, through these seven last words.

Stay tuned for more soon…
 

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Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

Who is this man?

What comes to mind… who do you imagine when you think about Jesus Christ?

A very good man? A great teacher maybe? How about a Jewish carpenter?

You’re correct in thinking of Him this way.

Jesus was a very good Man; in fact, He was the ONLY good man who ever lived. He was perfect, without spot or blemish, sinless. In Mark 10:18, Jesus says that no one is good except God alone.

Jesus was a great teacher; in fact, multitudes were greatly astonished at His teachings every day. See Matt 7:28-29, Matt 13:54, Mark 1:22, Mark 6:2, Mark 11:18, to name just a few.

Jesus was also the King of the Jews, and He was a carpenter by trade. (John 19:19)

Good man, great teacher, Jewish carpenter… Yes, to all of those. That’s Jesus.

But He’s also more than that

All of these unique characteristics point us to something more. They are a small reflection of His infinite glory and majesty… The beginning of the book of Hebrews plums the depths of the radiance and beauty of His splendor… His infinite holiness and majesty! O how rich and full of wonder are these 4 verses of scripture!

I see a Man… Jesus—who has been given all power and authority, has become heir of all things, and has created the world—He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of God’s nature! He upholds the entire universe by the power of His Word! This is a BIG God that is portrayed here in these verses.

The best part is that this HUGE God, who was not at all obligated to do so, came to make His dwelling among us with every intention of going to the cross in order to suffer and die for the sins of the world. He “made purification for OUR sins and he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”.

This is Power. Holiness. Supremacy. Glory. It is also Love. Humility. Grace. Mercy. This is our God and our King, let all the peoples stand in awe of His splendor, and worship Him!

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