Sunday, July 10, 2011
VICTIM OR VICTOR?
The Last 4 Sayings from the Cross
We are looking at Jesus, as He died on the cross. Specifically, we are considering the things He said as He hung there. Last week we looked at the first three things He said…
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Today you will be with me in Paradise.
Mother, behold your son… Behold your mother.
Today we will look at the last four sayings from the cross. Before we do, let me ask you a question. How do you see Jesus, as He is dying on the cross? Surely no one in the history of the world got such a raw deal as Jesus did. Though He did nothing but good during His 30 plus years on earth, they ridiculed Him, rejected Him, and finally crucified Him. Even the Roman governor testified repeatedly that Jesus did nothing worthy of death. Yet there He hangs on the cross, at the mercy of His executioners. Is that the way you see Jesus? By the time we get through this morning, I trust you will not be able to look at Him in that way.
4. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani] (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34)
We are told in Mark 15:25 that they crucified Jesus at the third hour, which was 9:00 in the morning. These first three sayings were uttered during the first three hours on the cross. During that time, things were difficult for Jesus. Let’s read about it in Mark 15:25-32…
And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. 28. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. 29. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30. Save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
Mark records none of the first three sayings of Jesus (nor does Matthew). His focus is on the strong opposition to Jesus, even as He hung on the cross during those three hours. Between verse 32 and 33 there is a gap. It was during that gap that the one criminal cried out for mercy and received Jesus’ promise that he would be with Him in Paradise. Up to this time things were really bad for Jesus, but they were about to get much worse. Let’s read it in Mark 15:33-34, "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
The darkness that covered the land from noon until 3:00 was only a shadow of the dark turmoil on the inside. Now Jesus was drinking the cup that He had spoken of in the Garden. Now the prophecy of Isaiah 53:10 was fulfilled: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise [crush] him…” While Jesus was fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 53, He spoke in terms of another Old Testament passage. Let’s read it in Ps. 22:1, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?...” Was Jesus aware that He was quoting scripture? Absolutely. Not only was He quoting from Psalm 22:1, but He was identifying with the entire Psalm. We read the Psalm earlier this morning. It is impossible for a person who knows anything about the crucifixion to escape the conclusion that David’s words were fulfilled in Jesus’ experience. The words “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” recall the entire Psalm.
But this cry from Jesus causes us to ask some serious questions. How could God the Father ever forsake His only Son? Didn’t He love Jesus? Hadn’t Jesus stated bluntly, “I and my Father are one”? Didn’t John say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”? How could anything ever come between God the Father and God the Son? Was this just Jesus’ strong impression during that terrifying experience? Surely He didn’t mean to say that the Father had actually forsaken Him, did He?
Jesus knew exactly what He was saying, and what He said was what He meant to say. Jesus was conscious that His Father had indeed forsaken Him. But what was the answer to His question, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The answer is simple, but profound. We can read it in Hab. 1:13, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity… " God the Father hates sin. He has always hated sin and always will hate sin. Yet the scripture clearly tells us that Jesus was made sin for us. “For he made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Cor. 5:21). Yes, Jesus bore our sins, as we read in 1 Pet. 2:24, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness..." But He not only bore our sins; Jesus actually became sin, and because He did, God the Father turned His back on Him.
Let me be clear on one thing: Jesus became sin, but He never became a sinner. It was my sin that He bore on the cross, not His own. Jesus became sin through the sins of others, not because He Himself sinned in any way. Nevertheless, there is much about the cross that goes beyond our understanding. I suspect we will still be learning a thousand years from now.
Let’s leave these words “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me” with the lingering question, “Why would Jesus go through such agony?” To do the will of His Father, to become propitiation for sin, to demonstrate His love for us, when we were yet sinners.
5. “I thirst” (John 19:28)
Now please turn to John 19. If you are reading from a red-letter Bible, which sets Jesus’ words apart by printing them in red, you quickly notice that Jesus spoke in verses 26, 27, 28, and 30. In verses 26 and 27, we have his instructions to His own mother and to that disciple whom He loved, John. We looked at it last week. In verse 28 we come to a further word, “I thirst.” There is a gap in between verse 27 and verse 28. That gap consists of what we just read in Mark 15. Praise God for three gospel accounts. Again, you might remember that Luke records three of Jesus’ seven sayings, while John records the three we see before us here in chapter 19. Both Matthew and Mark record Jesus saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It is the only one they record, and they are the only writers to record that particular one.
So now let’s focus in on the words, “I thirst.” First of all, if we compare what we have here with Mark 15, we soon discover that it wasn’t long after He said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” that He cried out “I thirst.” Let’s go ahead and read John 19:29, “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar; and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” Compare that with Mark 15:35-36, which contain the words immediately after His cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”…"And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down." Though Mark refers to the reed, while John notes the hyssop, we are looking at the same event. It seems most likely that it was a stalk of the hyssop plant, but it was not uncommon for stalks of various kinds to bear the general designation “reed.”
If you have read the entire crucifixion story recently, you might be a little confused by this. Why? Because earlier, when they first brought Jesus to the place of crucifixion, they offered him wine mixed with myrrh (Mark 15:23), but he refused to drink it. Matthew (27:34) tells us that Jesus tasted it and then refused it. This was a mixture that was commonly offered to those being executed, in order that their senses might be numbed and they might not feel the full measure of the pain. We read in Prov. 31:6, "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts." It was indeed a strong mixture given to men who were perishing.
So why did Jesus refuse to drink it? It seems obvious that He must endure all the suffering that came as a result of our sin. As He refused to take a shortcut that would bypass the cross altogether, He likewise refused to soften the agony that it would bring. Besides not wanting to soften the pain, it was even more crucial that Jesus’ senses be sharp. Of all the things He had encountered, this was by far the most demanding. When He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” He was feeling the full force of their hostility -- physically, emotionally, spiritually. He would have nothing dull the pain of the Father’s absence, though it was “unbearable.”
Now the question at hand: If Jesus refused to drink the wine mingled with myrrh earlier, why would He now say, “I thirst,” calling for them to give Him something to drink? Notice carefully what we read in verse 28, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst." Understand that Jesus knew exactly what was going on, and He knew there was yet one scripture to be fulfilled. His cry was the fulfillment of scripture. Come back to Psalm 22 again. Let’s read Ps. 22:15, "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." His thirst had been prophesied in scripture, but that is not half the story. Now turn to that other great Messianic Psalm which speaks of the crucifixion, Psalm 69. Let’s read Ps. 69:21, "They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."
While Jesus’ cry “I thirst” was a fulfillment of scripture, it was also a cry of agony. After hanging on that cross for six hours, fully exposed to all the elements, as He fought for every breath, you can imagine how thirsty He was. Now that the end has come, He is willing to drink something that will quench His thirst.
Though His physical thirst was great, surely the physical cannot exhaust the depth of those words “I thirst.” John Piper points out that the word here translated “thirst” is used five other times in the Gospel of John. In every one of those occurrences, it has to do with spiritual thirst. Three times it occurs in John 4:13-15…
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
We also find it in John 6:35, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Then in the passage we know well, John 7:37-39…
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
While Jesus had an intense physical thirst, He experienced a far greater spiritual thirst. But for what did Jesus thirst? He thirsted for God, His Father. Remember that His last cry had been, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” After an eternity of perfect fellowship with the Father, now for the very first time He was experiencing intense separation. His cry is the ultimate fulfillment of Ps. 63:1, “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.” His cry is perfectly in line with what He said to His Father the night before, as recorded in John 17:5, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (ESV).
This is good news for all of us. Because Jesus thirsted for God His Father, we don’t have to go on thirsting for Him, in the sense that we are not satisfied. Oh yes, we thirst, but because Jesus was cut off from the Father and thirsted for His presence, we don’t have to go on thirsting with no hope of ever finding living water. Jesus is the living water. When we cry out with the Psalmist, “My soul thirsteth for thee,” it is not a cry of anguish, but a cry of joy, because we know that we find in Him what satisfies our soul.
Now again John 19:29, "Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth." What a demonstration that Jesus was in control of what was happening on the cross. The parallel account in Matthew and Mark makes it clear that those in charge of the crucifixion were mocking Jesus. Why would they give Him what He wanted, something to drink? Because Jesus was in charge! The Son of God called for a drink, and they bowed to His wish. The use of hyssop was no accident. When the Jews thought of hyssop, their minds were carried back to the Passover, when they used hyssop to smear the blood above and on the sides of the door. Now their true Passover was being sacrificed before their very eyes.
6. “It is finished” (John 19:30)
That brings us to what is Jesus’ favorite saying from the cross for many of you. “It is finished.” Let’s read it by simply continuing here in John 19:30, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."
Now the big question: What was finished? What did Jesus mean, when He said, “It is finished”? Most of you have been through the study The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, by John Cross. He gives a short but helpful description of these powerful words “It is finished.” Let me read it for you…
The phrase “it is finished” is translated from a single Greek word tetelestai. Tetelestai had many different usages, but the following three have significance to the story:
1. Tetelestai was used by a servant reporting to his or her master upon completing a task: The job you
gave me is finished.
2. Tetelestai was also a familiar term in Greek commercial life. It signified the completion of a trans-
action when a debt was paid in full. When the final payment was made, one could say
“tetelestai,” that is, “The debt is finished.” Ancient receipts for taxes have been found with
tetelestai--paid in full--written across them.
3. The selection of a lamb for sacrifice in the temple was always an important time. The flock would be
searched and, upon finding an unblemished lamb, one would say tetelestai--the job was finished.
Quite literally Jesus shouted: “The work you gave me is completed, the debt is paid, the sacrificial lamb is found.” The Scripture says Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “It is finished.”
Jesus had already given a preview of “It is finished,” when He prayed the night before. John 17:4, “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” He spoke those words in anticipation of this time when He would say, “It is finished.” Jesus said clearly that He finished the work which His Father had given Him to do. Go all the way back to John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.” For Jesus, life was carrying out what the Father wanted Him to do. As He hung there on the cross, “knowing that all things were now accomplished,” He could say with all sincerity and truth, “It is finished. I have completed the mission for which the Father send me. I have given my life a ransom for many. As the Passover Lamb, I have shed my own blood. I have brought glory and honor to my Father. It’s done.”
Though neither Matthew nor Mark records these words “It is finished,” both give us an additional detail that is important. John tells us that Jesus said, “It is finished.” That is what Jesus said, but Matthew and Mark tell us something about how He said it. Mark 15:37, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost” (see also Matt. 27:50). When we compare the accounts of Mark (or Matthew) with John, it is clear that what Jesus said with a loud voice was, “It is finished.”
Go back again to John 19:30, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished;’ and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.” It is interesting that the receiving of the vinegar is linked so closely with “It is finished.” I agree with those who suggest that another reason Jesus called for a drink was so that He would be able to speak these words with a loud voice. Let me read again that prophetic description in Ps. 22:15, "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." It is very difficult to cry out with a loud voice, when your mouth is so dry that your tongue is clinging to your jaws. He needed something to quench His thirst, but He also needed some liquid that would allow Him to call out in a way that He would be heard.
Understand that when Jesus yelled out, “It is finished,” it was not a cry of defeat, but rather the cry of victory. Jesus was not resigning Himself to die; He was proclaiming the victory He had completed. Jesus was and is the victor, and may we never forget it.
Notice again that Jesus was seeking the glory of His Father. It wasn’t about what He had accomplished for Himself, but how He had done the will of His Father. Back to His prayer again in John 17:4, “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which YOU gave me to do.”
7. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 24:46)
Let’s read one more time John 19:30, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." “Gave up the ghost” simply means that He yielded up His Spirit. If we were to read only John, we would definitely get the impression that right after Jesus said, “It is finished,” He died. We would conclude the same thing from Mark and Matthew. Mark 15:37, "And Jesus cried with a loud voice, [It is finished] and gave up the ghost." It is Luke who gives us further detail by including the seventh and last word of Jesus from the cross.
Let’s come to Luke’s abbreviated account. We will read the second saying, which was Jesus’ word to the thief beside Him, and continue through the last saying. Luke obviously doesn’t include the four things which Jesus said in between. Let’s read now from Luke 23:43-46…
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. 44. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
You will notice immediately that verse 46 is almost identical to Mark 15:37. Most translations render this verse in such a way that Jesus cries with a loud void, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” However, the KJV and the NKJV give a very literal translation, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.’” I take it to mean that after crying with a loud voice, “It is finished,” Jesus then said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” This rendering accounts for both of the last two sayings of Jesus.
You may be aware that Jesus takes the words of this last saying from David in Ps. 31:5, “Into thy hand I commit my spirit…” Isn’t it amazing how the Word of God was continually in the mind of Jesus and on His lips. He was the one who early in His ministry quoted another Old Testament verse, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus knew well the truth of Ps. 1:1-2, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."
Now Jesus is perfectly at rest. The anguish of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” is gone. Because Jesus’ has completed His work as the propitiation for sin, He is no longer separated from His Father. When He cried out, “It is finished,” the separation was done with forever. Now with absolute confidence in His Father, He can say, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Notice that immediately after these words, Jesus died. In the four gospels, there are two different expressions which are used. In Matthew 27:50 and John 19:30 Jesus dismissed (gave over in John) His spirit. In Mark 15:37 and Luke 23:46 Jesus breathed His last. In Mark and Luke it is the translation of a single compound word -- “out” plus “breath” (or “spirit,” as one Greek word is used for both “breath” and “spirit”).
This is in perfect accord with what Jesus said earlier. Let’s go back to John 10:17-18, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." Now Jesus does exactly that. No one is taking His life from Him. Having completed all that the Father had for Him to do, Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” The KJV has “commend,” but “commit” is better. The word literally means “to give over to.” Jesus gives Himself into the keeping of His Father, trusting Him to raise from the dead, as He has promised.
Conclusion
So how do you see Jesus? He is not a victim; He is the victor. Even though that victory would not be declared until three days later, when He would be “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4), even now we see a triumphant Christ.
Notice that from beginning to end, throughout His experience on the cross, Jesus is in control. They not only crucified Him, but they treated Him with utter contempt. A man who was at their mercy would have been muttering under His breath, longing to get revenge. But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know now what they do.” After they had nailed Him securely to the cross, you would think that Jesus had no power. What could He do? He could turn to a dying criminal and promise Him eternal life: “Today you shall be with me in Paradise.” Not only was Jesus in control of the eternal things, but He also spoke with authority over temporal matters as well. Speaking to His own mother, He said, “Woman, behold your son. “ Then to His apostle John, “Behold your mother.”
As the day wore on, Jesus’ agony increased. Not only was the physical pain and the mental abuse difficult to bear, but the reality of His Father turning away from Him tore Jesus apart. Still, Jesus looked to His Father, trusting Him. Thinking in the terms that Job used, though the Father would slay Him, Jesus would still trust Him. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” As we have already noted, when Jesus cried out, “I thirst,” one of the soldiers gave Him a drink. Though those on the ground didn’t know it, Jesus was calling the shots. By that time, His enemies must have thought that He was finished. No, what was finished was the work for which the Father sent Him. What they must have thought, as His triumphant cry pierced the air, “It is finished.” And now all that was left was His peaceful resignation, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Then He died.
Not only was Jesus in control of the situation, but He brought glory to His Father in everything He said and did. He took everything the devil and the world could throw at Him, and He turned it all into glorious victory for His Father.
Brothers and sisters, that is a picture of what God can do in our lives. No, we won’t handle it as perfectly as Jesus did, but we must remember that the same Jesus who died victoriously on the cross can live victoriously in and through us. That’s the divine plan of our loving Father.
Are you ever tempted to just try to make it through the crisis? “Lord, just get me through this, and then I will glorify your name.” Listen. Every circumstance is an opportunity to bring glory to the Father. When is it most important to trust God? In the greatest crisis. Did Jesus not demonstrate that clearly on the cross? When can we bear the most effective witness for our Lord? It is in the crisis, when we are being squeezed. That’s exactly what Jesus did, and we see the fruit in the thief who turned to Him for mercy. Take heart, brothers and sisters. He can do more in us than we ask or think.
We took a break from Job to be reminded that there is One who faced greater trials than Job, One who never ceased to glorify His Father in all things. As we continue to look at Job, may we ever turn to look fully at our Lord Jesus.
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