Date : Sixth Lenten Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Text : The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ Drawn from the Four Gospels

Title : Calvary

"About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice . . . ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’"

In our weekly readings, we have made it to the cross. From the cross, Jesus speaks, seven times. Of the four Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—none of them records all of Jesus’ words. We have the benefit of having them all before us, today, in this lesson, which gathers all four Gospels into one telling of our Lord’s Passion.

The first word from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

In the Lord Jesus’ ability to forgive those who crucified Him, you have the answer to the common question: "How can I forgive people when they hurt me, so badly?"

The Son of God forgives, thus the child of God forgives. Forgiveness is at the heart of godliness. Jesus never questions whether or not He will have a forgiving heart for these people, who sinned against Him. The Christian never questions whether he will have a forgiving heart for the people, who sin against him.

When you are in doubt as to whether or not your hard heart should melt in forgiveness, listen to Jesus’ first word from the cross. Forgiveness is the first word of every child of God.

The second word from the cross: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."

The two men, on either side of the Lord, were not petty thieves; they were the worst of the worst. That one of them made fun of Jesus is no surprise. But, that one of them turned to Jesus, in faith—that’s a shocker.

In the Lord’s promise to take this man to Paradise, we see two vital things. First, Jesus knows the man’s heart: he humbled himself in faith to Jesus. Jesus knew it was genuine. Jesus knows whether or not your faith in Him is genuine. You can’t fool Jesus.

And, you don’t want to fool Jesus because of the second vital thing: ascension to Paradise is free and immediate. Jesus doesn’t ask what church you belonged to, or if you were baptized, or how often did you commune. He’s only looking for faith—the faith that the Holy Spirit makes alive in every child of God—the faith that draws you to be baptized, to love to worship, and to commune with Jesus, often. Exercising God’s gift of faith, Jesus speaks the same comforting word to you: "Today, you will be with me in Paradise."

The third word from the cross: "Woman, behold your son! . . . Behold your mother!"

In laying down His life, the Son of God was obedient to God the Father. In looking out for Mary’s welfare, Jesus was obedient to His mother.

Jesus, even in His dying woes, loves His mother. He fulfilled the Fourth Commandment. He honored His mother by seeing to her earthly care, because He would not be there to do so. Every child of God, no matter his age, will always honor his parents.

The fourth word from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

This word of the Lord gets to the heart of the crucifixion and one of the cruxes of theology. As God the Son, Jesus is eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. One thing that we humans recognize, in trying to comprehend how God can be three persons yet one God, is that the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is perfect, unchanging, and everlasting.

Yet, on the cross, we see the brokenness of the Trinity in Jesus’ cry for His Father. God the Father has left God the Son to take the sin of the world, all by Himself. Jesus’ spiritual state matches His physical state, of which Isaiah prophesied: "His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness."

Jesus’ physical state of being was matching His spiritual state of being. Jesus was so stricken, smitten, and afflicted by the sin of the world that He was a disgusting sight to His Father—even as His Father was pleased that His Son was bearing the sin of the world.

There was only one reason for God to allow His perfect Trinity to be broken, in the punishment of Jesus. That one reason is that you need never be punished for your sins.

The fifth word from the cross: "I thirst."

As much as one tries to read the Passion of Christ in a manner befitting the moment, we don’t even come close. When a man was crucified, His body was on red-alert, to stay alive. The blood rushed to the heart, to keep it pumping. The muscles screamed in pain from the weight of the body strung up by nails. The mouth went completely dry.

Of this, Psalm 22 prophesied about Jesus: "My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth."

When Jesus said, "I thirst," He was very nearly finished. The words would have croaked out of His mouth, barely a whisper. His body was all dried up. He was in desperate need of the most basic requirement for life: water.

Is it any wonder, then, that water is most basic to the life of a child of God? Jesus gave up the water of life so as to provide you with a baptism unto eternal life. He thirsted in death so that you could drink Him up, forever.

The sixth word from the cross: "It is finished."

A pastor is most pleased to have been run through the wringer in seminary, when it comes to phrases like, "It is finished." In being taught the Greek of the original New Testament, this pastor has etched into his brain that Jesus said, "Tetelestai."

Tetelestai means that the goal has been reached, the job is done, the work has been accomplished. It is finished. It is completed. There is nothing left to do.

When you hear Jesus declare, "Tetelestai," you are assured that His Father forgives you, whether or not you know what you are doing. When you hear Jesus declare, "It is finished," you have confidence that, whenever your last day might be, that very day, you will be with Him, in Paradise.

The seventh word from the cross: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

A basic element of relationship is faith. When a man and woman have faith in each other, they will vow their love in marriage. When a parent has faith in a child, the child can spread his wings in freedom.

When His Father is nowhere near to hear Jesus’ prayer of forsakenness, Jesus’ faith does not waver. It is through faith that Jesus commends His spirit into His Father’s hands. It is through faith that you commend your spirit into your Father’s hands.

These Lenten Wednesdays, the focus has been upon Jesus and upon you. When you look at yourself, you are humbled to confess your sinful nature, because your sinfulness is the reason that God the Son had to take on your flesh and be forsaken by His Father, upon the cross.

When you look at Jesus, you are filled with joy, that God so loved you that He gave His only Son into the death damnable death that you deserve. When you listen to Jesus, you hear forgiveness. When you see Him die, you know that He died so that you can live. When you believe in Jesus, you are commended by Jesus’ Father, who is now also your Father, to the salvation of life with Jesus, in Paradise. Amen.