The Last Sayings of Christ on The Cross

I'd like to minister to your hearts this morning the seven last sayings of Jesus. I'm going to try to speed it up a little bit because there's a lot of territory to go through.

We would not even scratch the surface, beloved, with these seven sayings of Jesus on the cross.

Let me begin by prayer. Pray with me, please. Father, I would pray as we come before you in your holy presence, help us to remove the shoes of our hearts, our sandals from our hearts, and recognize we are on holy ground when we come before the cross, which you ordained for your son to be crucified on, the altar, the hill of Calvary.

And Lord, all of your attributes are on display before the cross of Jesus Christ.

You're pleased with this. Nothing pleases you more than your beloved son who took your punishment because of our sin.

Lord, help us to see this. We would ask that your blessed Holy Spirit this morning be the true teacher, hide the messenger, and may the master shine forth.

Lord, be with us now as we go through these verses. And Lord, may application be given to each and every one of our hearts this morning that we would lift this out in the

Christ likeness and bear our own cross. Lord, we thank you for the crucifixion.

Without the crucifixion, there is no atonement. There's no forgiveness of sins. So, Lord, we go there, and as we go there, as we look into your word,

Lord, I pray that your Spirit would help us do this in a spirit of humility and reverence before thee,

O Lord. Open our hearts, open our minds, open our eyes that we may behold the

Lamb of God. We pray this for thy glory in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well, the Sermon on the Mount recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 5 through chapter 7 is no doubt the most profound and greatest sermon ever to be preached in history because it is preached by the greatest person who ever lived.

Sermon on the Mount, God always speaks on mountains, on hilltops.

He's always had a word to say, and there's a reason He's had a word to say on the hills.

The Sermon on the Mount was a great message for us, three chapters in Matthew 5 through 7.

But yet, there's another great sermon that our Lord Jesus Christ preached, and one was from the mountain range, a hilltop stretched from north of Capernaum, that Jesus spent all night in prayer to His Father for wisdom to choose

His disciples. That was where He preached, of course, the

Sermon on the Mount. It says in Matthew chapter 5, verse 1 and 2, when

Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountain, a hilltop, and after He sat down,

His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them. And you know this is a great sermon, doesn't it?

The other great sermon that our Lord preached was on a lonely hill,

Golgotha, the place of the skull, Calvary. And here we will see, and as you well know what the

Scripture records, He's dying between two thieves, two criminals, on an old wooden

Roman cross that the Syrians basically, if you do research on that, the

Syrians came up with this awful, awful slow way of crucifixion in that time period.

The Sermon on the Mount was a perfect sermon on the perfect law of God, and about the kingdom of God preached by the

King Himself. And can I say that the

Sermon on Mount Calvary that Jesus preached by His life was on His profound love, the

Father's profound love, given in flesh and blood in His final hours by the

King Himself. And upon the cross above Him stood the inscription,

King of the Jews. He poured out His life's blood out to the very last for those

He loved. All the words of Christ in which He taught is demonstrated in its perfection.

If He spoke about loving His enemies, and for God's people and His disciples to love their enemies, then

Jesus demonstrated this while He died on the cross. He loved His enemies. We will see this.

But here on Calvary's cross are recorded from Scripture only seven, just seven last sayings from our

Lord and Savior on the cross. These seven last recorded sayings from the cross comes to us as recorded.

And let me put a side note here, a footnote. Three are recorded in Luke.

Three are recorded in John. And one in both

Matthew and Mark. That's interesting. Three in Luke, three in John, one in Matthew, one in Mark.

So the exact order is not really known to us. However, we will look at them this morning in a traditional order.

Each of these sayings of Jesus from the cross are extremely, immensely rich with eternal significance.

And actually, my English language will actually pale pale in doing my best to articulate to you the greatness of the depth of each of these sayings of Jesus.

I pray that the Spirit of God will move upon our hearts and show us in application the meaning as we look into the

Word of God. They are deeply, profoundly, and they demonstrate to us

Jesus as He remains in sovereign control of His own death on the cross and how they demonstrate to us that Jesus also was completely consistent in His life and messages as I've already mentioned.

There's another verse that comes to mind in John 13, verse 1. It says this, Now before the feast of the

Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour, He always spoke about His hour,

His hour. This is His hour, beloved, when He goes to the cross, when

He dies. That His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the

Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

He loved them to the end. That means basically He loves to absolute perfection.

With perfect love. There's nothing tainted about the love of God.

It's a holy love. It's a love beyond us. It's a love from the heart of God, the

Father, as He gives His only one and only Son that we can be saved by believing in Him.

God loves the world. He loves sinners with compassion.

That is undeniable. And that is demonstrated by God's common grace.

Even at this very hour, God gives people breath and life. Scripture says,

In Him we live and move and have our being. Our life comes from God. God has gifted people with life.

He's gifted us with life. And He also gives the sunshine and the rain and all these things freely out of His goodness.

Even though people would curse God today and they would do their own thing and here we're living in a day that people are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

And God will still love them just the same. And they will continue to blaspheme

Him. That's amazing, isn't it? That's God's common grace. But let me say something about His great special love.

He has a common love for all people. But He has a special love for His own with perfection and eternal love.

And that's the way He loves His own people. His sheep, His elect. Best way

I can give an analogy of that is like you love your own family with a different kind of love, with a special love more than the love of others.

Husbands, you love your wives as Christ loved the church. That's with a special love. Wives, you love your husband with a special love.

And families, mothers, fathers love your children. We love our children with a special love.

And that's the way it is with God. He loves His own with a perfect special love. So in saying that, now may we behold the

Lamb of God, Christ our Passover. As we hear the words of life this morning, as I will speak on the seven last sayings of Jesus from the cross,

I give credits to A .W. Pink for the outline of just grabbing hold of a few of these words here as we go through these.

And I would highly suggest find that little book. It is jam -packed with Him going into extensive detail on the seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross.

It's really good. And He takes the Scriptures and He puts it all together. But I'm going to grab some of His words here as we look.

The first saying, the first saying that we see from the cross was a plea for mercy with infinite love.

A plea for mercy. So here we have a word of forgiveness. A word of forgiveness.

This is the first saying from the cross. And it's recorded to us in Luke chapter 23, verse 34.

The word of God says, And Jesus cried from the cross on behalf of those that crucified

Him and tormented Him. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

Profound, isn't it? His tormentors. He prays for His tormentors.

He prays for both Jews and Romans. Jesus prays for them to the

Father while they actually were crucifying Him. Probably while He was actually being nailed to the cross.

Or as soon as the cross was literally reared up on its end and dropped into its socket in the way they did that.

While His flesh tore with the huge nails through His palms.

And His feet lifted up on Golgotha's hill,

Calvary's hill. And the people that crucified Him were not aware of the wickedness that they committed.

They did not recognize Him as the true Messiah. Actually, this is recorded by Luke in Acts chapter 13, 27 and 28.

And it says this, For those who dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not know

Him, nor even the voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning

Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.

It's worthy to note here that as soon as the blood of the great sacrifice began to flow from our

Savior, the great high priest began to intercede for them. Here He is as the great high priest and He begins to pray.

And the first words He uttered while they were literally crucifying Him was, Father, forgive them.

Father, forgive them for they do not know what they're doing. From the cross, a priestly prayer, a plea for mercy and forgiveness,

Jesus pleads for them. These people don't know how to pray. And if they pray, if it's

Jewish people that pray and it's all pretense and hypocrisy, there's no real touching the throne of God.

But Jesus is the mediator between God and men. He prays for them and He prays forgiveness for His tormentors.

Amazing, isn't it? Amazing love. How can it be that Thou, my

God, shouldest die for me? As Wesley said, those who unjustly crucified

Him on the Crucifix, most men being crucified on the Roman cross would cry out with threatenings and lashing back with hatred and anger and vengeance.

But not our Lord. Our Lord actually responds in the opposite way with a supernatural, powerful love, truly asking the

Father to forgive them. It demonstrates to us that we're to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.

That God is merciful and forgiving. He's slow to anger.

And the Lord Jesus Christ prays to the Father for their forgiveness. Instead of lashing back, calling down, now think of this, calling down the judgment of Almighty God upon them, which

He could have, He prays as the

God -man, holy and just, but yet loving and gracious. He prays that His Father would forgive them to those who unjustly takes or took

His life. Let us remember the wonderful saying that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 10 verse 17 and 18.

Listen very closely to this. Jesus speaks to the crowd here and to the

Jewish people and He says, Therefore my Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again.

No one takes it from me, no one. But I lay it down of myself.

I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it again.

This command I received from my Father. It's a command and Jesus is perfectly obeying that command to the very last.

By repeating this phrase twice there in John 10, to take it again, to take it again.

Notice it indicates His sacrificial death was not the very end of the story. He's speaking of His resurrection.

His resurrection that would follow that demonstrates His mighty Messiahship and His deity that He is the

God -man. Here He dies as man, but He's raised. That's proof that He was fully man.

And then when He rises again from the dead, shows that He's fully

God. Yet we see the Lamb of God dying, the just for the unjust.

He becomes a curse. To reverse the curse, He takes our place as the substitute.

But here He is the great high priest and He's praying for His enemies. He's praying for His tormentors.

He's praying for those who hate Him and He prays for forgiveness. What a great act of love.

Have you ever noticed many of the martyrs that follow our Lord in His tracks did the same thing?

Remember Stephen when he was being stoned to death? How he acted so much like the

Lord in his very last breath? And he says, do not lay this sin to their charge.

That was the first deacon of the church. Stephen, a godly man who preached the

Word faithfully to probably the same crowd that crucified the Lord. And yet he follows the example of Jesus in his steps.

And how much more should God's people as us at Redeeming Grace Church or wherever you may be out and about that we are to forgive those who hate even though they do not know what they're doing.

Jesus prays for His enemies so He pleads for mercy. He pleads for mercy for them. This is the attribute of compassion for His enemies.

We see the greatest mercy ever demonstrated to the unjust wicked sinners and Jesus demonstrates it, the master

Himself. What an example our Lord says. Isaiah 53, 12 fulfilled at the cross says this,

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he has poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bare the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

There it is. Thousands of years Isaiah the prophet foretold that the

Messiah Himself would make intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus fulfilled it, that prophecy in full. For the whole and the complete meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was summed up in that intercession on the cross.

Great intercessor. Beloved, we can go through the life of Jesus and look at His prayer life but I'm telling you this act of kindness and compassion and mercy for His tormentors is absolutely astounding and amazing and convicting.

How far we have to go when people cross us and offend us and make us very upset for Jesus sake and that we should respond not in retaliation but with great kindness and say

Lord forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. They're blind. They cannot see the way we see because God has taken the scales off our eyes and we see the great love of God and we need to demonstrate this that people may see

Jesus in us. Amen. It's convicting but this is the way it is. We should apply this and our master set the example and I cannot imagine the pain that he was going through just not physically but internally that these people,

His own people, the Jews were crucifying Him. They were the ones that as we read about Palm Sunday here we think of this they were saying

Hosanna to Him in the highest. He comes, blessed He who comes in the name of the

Lord but a week after that they were saying crucify Him, crucify Him and yet He forgives them.

He's praying for forgiveness. Powerful isn't it? Oh mercy there was great grace was free like the old hymn says pardon there was multiplied to me at Calvary and Jesus is the great high priest and the intercessor.

Spirit of God spoke through the Apostle Paul about this as well in 1

Corinthians chapter 2 verse 7 and 8. He says but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery even the hidden wisdom which

God ordained before the world unto our glory which none of the princes of this world knew for had they known it they would not have crucified the

Lord of glory. God ordained it and allowed it in His sovereignty for this to happen because Jesus is the

Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world. The plan was already set and God ordained it in His sovereignty and here it is accomplished and the

Spirit of God applies it. Jesus prayed that they would be forgiven for they know not what they're doing crucifying the

Lord of glory. And so how was this prayer of mercy and forgiveness answered?

How was it answered? It was answered immediately in the salvation of one of the thieves who was dying next to him on one side, two thieves on each side while he was hanging on the cross.

J .C. Rowe calls this man that comes to him and was forgiven

Christ's greatest trophy. You can read that in Rowe's book,

The Holiness of God. It's a powerful, powerful message. So this leads me to the second saying,

Christ's second saying from the cross marks the first glorious fulfillment of that answer of prayer for the forgiveness of those who participated in his death.

As hours of agony passed on the cross, two thieves were crucified next to Christ.

So we read in Luke 23, chapter 23, verse 39 to 43 says this, and one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him saying, if you are the

Christ, save yourself and us. Verse 40, but the other answer and rebuked him saying, do you not even fear

God? Seeing you are under the same condemnation and we indeed justly, for we received the due reward of our deeds.

And listen to what he says, but this man has done nothing wrong. You notice that?

This is a criminal. He hasn't been to church. He hasn't been to the synagogue. We'll see in a few minutes, he just had one little thing to go by and he believed him.

One track, the very first gospel track that was upon the Lord above his head on the cross.

He says in his dying breath, this thief, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus said to him, and here's his second saying, most assuredly,

I'll say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. Isn't that glorious?

Here's the word of salvation versus the word of forgiveness, mercy. Now we see a word of salvation.

Think of it. No sinner was ever given more sure word of assurance than of salvation than to hear it from the very lips and mouth of Jesus himself by faith alone and believing in just what he said to him.

And he believed it. It's all the Lord really asked for, not of works, not of all merits, but all because of who

Jesus is and what he says. And here we see the criminal.

He embraced Jesus as Lord. How do we know this? We'll see. He embraced with simple childlike faith, confessing himself as an unworthy sinner.

We already saw that in the text. He was worthy of the condemnation of the deeds that he did.

So he confessed that to the other thief that was blaspheming and railing him.

Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? This man's hanging on a cross, folks.

He's dying. Then he confesses

Christ as the perfect King. He says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

He recognized that Jesus was a King. And he recognized that he was

King, that Jesus was King. His request was in a desperate plea of mercy. And he knew that he knew he did not deserve.

So he was like the publican Jesus spoke of and Luke the sinner, beating his chest that he would not even lift his eyes to heaven in humility.

Because he smote his breast for the fear that God might look at his wretched face and he would be consumed for his sin.

And what did he pray? You remember what he prayed? Just a short prayer. Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.

That's all. It doesn't take big prayers to come into the kingdom of God, folks.

If you come with the, Jesus said, it's the size of faith of the size of a mustard seed or a childlike faith and simplicity and cry out in desperation,

God will hear that prayer. Words of our Lord Jesus Christ to this dying thief given to him before his death itself, conveyed to him the assurance, the promise of complete forgiveness and entrance into heaven itself.

And listen to me very closely, beloved, based on nothing that he had done.

This world thinks somehow they can get into heaven by something they do. That's a heresy of heresies.

There's nothing in us that's good. None good but God. But only upon a desperate plea and affirmation that Jesus Christ was indeed

Lord and King. Amazing to think that the King of glory, the Savior right beside him was bearing the judgment of God for that thief's sins right before him at that time.

Christ transferred his perfect righteousness right to that thief as he believed.

It happens. Transferred his righteousness to him so he can enter right into heaven.

And Jesus said, today you will be with me in paradise. I don't know about you, but if I was that thief and if I was dying and crying out, that would be the most comforting thing to me to have that kind of assurance.

And by the way, we can have that kind of assurance. Isn't it wonderful? It's glorious.

Most assuredly, I say to you today, today you will be with me in paradise.

What a word of blessed assurance. We sing blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.

It is. And Jesus and all of Jesus and who he is is ours through faith, by faith, alone.

This dying thief, beloved, demonstrated the true living faith in action. Faith is in action here.

He's truly penitent. He's confessing it, that he is worthy of the condemnation.

He confesses to Christ to have mercy on him. And actually what is happening here, when

Jesus prayed that prayer of forgiveness, this thief was hearing. And God's sovereignty moved upon this man's soul and brings him right into salvation.

A word of salvation. He recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. He recognized

Jesus was the sinless King. He recognized that Christ had the right to rule over a kingdom of the souls of men and that he would soon enter to that kingdom, despite of his soon death.

His request to our Lord is just to remember him when he comes into his kingdom.

And Jesus gives the blessed promise today, you would be with me in paradise. This reveals, by the way, that the thief had no hope but divine grace, folks.

Nothing else. That grace and grace alone and all that Jesus alone by faith would bring him in.

How did this dying thief know that Christ was a King? Well, as I said before, I gave you a little hint about this.

Verse 38. If you're there at this text in Luke chapter 23, if you look at verse 38, the first gospel tract,

I got this from Warren Wiersbe, he said, he read the first gospel tract that ever written that says an inscription also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.

This is the King of the Jews. There it is. And even the

Jewish people hated that, that they put that inscription and they were asking

Pilate to take it down. And we don't like this. He's not our King. They rejected him.

And what he said, what I've written, I've written.

God ordained that, folks. And God used that first gospel tract.

I like what William Cooper said in this wonderful hymn. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins.

Sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Beloved, that is true for us as well.

And right here, one of the stanzas says, the dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day.

And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.

Do you need your sins washed away today, beloved? There's a fountain that's still flowing today from Calvary's mountain.

What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. When the day we die, what's going to matter?

The only thing that's going to matter and mean anything is when God says, when I see the blood,

I will pass over you. Folks, do you have the blood of Jesus Christ applied to your heart by faith?

J .C. Rowell said this about the thief on the cross. He said, one thief was saved that no sinner might despair, but only one that no sinner might presume.

That is so true. Both of these thieves were alike.

They were wicked sinners, needed forgiveness. Yet one died in his sins as he lived, hardened and impenitent, unbelieving.

And the other repented and believed, cried to Jesus in desperation for mercy, and was saved that very hour to the uttermost because of our

Savior. Well, let's go to the third saying. The third saying is of Jesus on the cross was a word of compassion.

First, there's a word of forgiveness, mercy. We have a word of salvation.

Now, there's a word of compassion and affection. Compassion and affection.

It's recorded in the gospel of John chapter 19, verse 25 to 27, says this.

Now, there stood by the cross his mother and his mother's sister

Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. Notice that was three Marys at the foot of the cross.

Verse 26, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by whom he loved, that's

John, the apostle that's writing this gospel, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son.

Verse 27 says, then he said to the disciple, he looks to John, behold your mother.

And from that hour, that disciple took her to his own home and took care of her.

Here we have affection. It must have been extremely painful, think of it, watching

Jesus die for his loved ones. But for the mother of Jesus, it was much, much more agonizing in a sense.

Luke gives to us the details and prophecy by the name of a man whose name was

Simeon. Go with me to Luke chapter 2. And we will see this prophecy when Jesus, very shortly after Jesus was born.

And I like to just read the text to you and what it says about the prophecy. Simeon sees

God's salvation before he dies. He's an elderly man. Behold, in verse 25,

Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.

And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the

Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

So he came by the Spirit. Notice how many times it's the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. He came by the

Spirit. The revelation came by the Spirit. He's led by the Spirit. By the

Spirit into the temple, he comes into the temple. And when the parents, speaking of Joseph and Mary, brought in the child

Jesus, he was a young child at the time, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed

God. Could you imagine this man? He was an elderly man. And he sees this baby. And the

Spirit of God's revealed to him something supernatural about this baby. There's something supernatural. There's something special about this baby.

Lord, and listen what he prays. He says, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.

It's always according to God's word, isn't it? For mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the

Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. Folks, this is the Spirit of God giving him this revelation.

And then in verse 33, Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which was spoken of him.

They didn't understand everything, but they marveled. And then Simeon blessed them.

He gave them a blessing. And he said to Mary, his mother, Behold, notice what he says.

Behold, this child is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against.

And notice what he says. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also.

This man could have not known anything about the death of Christ, but here he is prophesying and he's talking to his mother, to Mary and say a sword will pierce through your own soul.

In other words, it will be painful that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

What a prophecy. And here we see at the cross of Jesus, when

Jesus speaks to his mother, Mary, that sword is piercing her heart.

And here at the cross of Calvary, many stood at the foot of the cross and the sword of anguish,

I would say, that was painful, agonizing, had been promised so long ago when

Jesus was just born there as a young child and as Simeon prophesied by the

Holy Spirit would now pierce through her heart. She felt that piercing there. It was real.

And while Jesus there was hanging on the cross of shame and suffering and anguish, excruciating pain, under the weight and the judgment of a holy

God, our sinless Savior, the man of sorrows, Jesus selflessly, not thinking of himself while he's dying, folks, he thinks of his mother.

He turns aside to care. He looks at John, the apostle. He cares.

He thinks about here she is up in age and he's concerned about her being taken care of, her needs.

Isn't this beautiful about the Savior? This is compassion. This is affection toward his mother. And what is he doing?

He's fulfilling the law to its fullest by honoring his mother.

At the foot of the cross, they gaze at him and there he is, lacerated, naked in shame.

And he says, behold, Jesus said to her, woman. Now, let me say something here about this term woman.

Nowhere in scripture is it ever recorded that Jesus called Mary mother. This is interesting, isn't it?

He never calls, even though she is the mother of Christ Jesus, she bore him because she was blessed among many and privileged to bear the son of the living

God, the Messiah, to come into this world in the incarnation of the virgin birth.

And boy, I tell you, that is so important. But he never calls her mother. He says woman. He's not being disrespectful, okay?

He noticed, oh, remember when he said woman at the wedding of Canaan in John chapter 2, where Jesus turned the water into wine.

And here at Calvary's cross, as Jesus is hanging on the Roman cross, he says woman.

Why? Why does he say this? Well, it was as if Jesus was telling Mary much, much more there at the cross while he's hanging there as the sacrifice and the substitute that he's much, much more than just a son to her, like a relationship between a mother and son, but between a sinner and a savior.

And what I'm saying here, wow, this would probably be blasphemy to the Roman Catholics, but it's true.

I'm telling you, she needed a savior just like the thief on the cross. She needed a savior.

And Jesus was that only savior for her. Jesus came to be a savior.

He's dying as the savior of the world. And here he was Mary's savior as well, depending, she had to be dependent upon the divine grace of God through Jesus Christ, just like the thief on the cross was being dependent for his salvation as well to repent.

Even though she was blessed among all women and noble, godly woman, a

Hebrew girl could be, she needed forgiveness of sins. She needed a savior just like all the rest of us.

So by Jesus saying what he did in the text, by doing this, he was entrusting the care of his mother to John the apostle.

And many times as we go through the gospel of John, as we're studying right now presently, that John the apostle says of himself, the one whom

Jesus loved. He never uses his own name. There's a humility in this.

Many more details, but could you think, let me put a parenthesis here. It could be very well possible also, that when the apostle

John was caring for the mother, for Mary, the mother of Jesus, that in her latter days, in her elderly days, that John the apostle received many of the details from her in the writing of this gospel, that Mary shared with John?

I believe that. Well, the law required the firstborn son to take care of the parents and Jesus was obeying the law perfectly.

Here, he was doing it passively, but to the very end,

Jesus was fulfilling the law of God, even on the cross. And he honored and obeyed the law perfectly while he suffered at the death of Calvary.

Number four, we've got to get through these. The fourth saying Jesus uttered from the cross is probably, and this here is the most difficult for us to understand and to grasp.

And folks, I'm telling you, we could camp here to the rest of the day until the

Lord Jesus comes back, but I'm going to try to touch in what I can. Here is the holiest of holies.

Here is by far the richest terms of mystery and meaning of the gospel of Matthew.

It's found chapter 27, verse 45 and 46. And now from the sixth hour, this is the dark until the ninth hour, three hours, there was darkness over the land.

Verse 46, about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying,

Eli, Eli, lama sabathilin. That is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Oh, beloved, let me tell you. Probably the best commentary

I ever read on this was G. Campbell Morgan when he said, he says, here I shut my mouth.

I have nothing to say but to fall down and worship. I honestly could say there's many commentaries on it and they're good ones.

Spurgeon gives a great, a wonderful sermon on this text. And there's Puritans that preach great sermons from this text.

But I'm telling you, Morgan is right. All you can do is worship because it's unfathomable and it's deep and it's infinite.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And you remember hearing this before? This was actually a fulfillment of Psalm 22, 1.

The exact words. Jesus is quoting scripture. But it's real.

Here he is, that fulfillment. Here is a word of anguish, a word of anguish. It's deep, it's deep agony.

And beloved, we cannot understand this. We cannot grasp this. We cannot fathom this.

But beloved, I'm telling you, it's deep. But what does it mean? What does it mean? I'm going to try my best to touch this a little bit.

And it's a great question. Again, like I said, we will never be able to plumb the full depths of it.

And you can be sure of that. But all the knowledge of one can muster up cannot even touch or scratch the surface.

All we can really do, like G. Campbell Morgan says, is worship. But it was here that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, hanging on that cross on the hill called

Calvary, Golgotha's hill, high and lifted up, as Jesus told Nicodemus, like the bronze serpent

Moses lifted up on a hillside of the people of Israel that were bitten by serpents.

And Jesus says, and I, he will be lifted up. And I will draw men to me.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, bearing the shame of sins, dying as our substitute for sinners. Here is the suffering and the agony of the full punishment of the wrath of Almighty God, that God is pouring out on his son.

In these three dark hours, folks, Jesus Christ took our eternal hell.

He took that separation from God, the holy God. Here we see that awfulness of sin.

I cannot preach hard enough on this, folks. But he takes the awfulness of our sin, your sin, my sin, and he takes it upon himself.

And as A .W. Pink says, here we see the absolute holiness and inflexible justice of God upon his son.

Here we see the explanation of Gethsemane when he poured out his life's blood in great drops of blood in Gethsemane, saying, not my will, but thy will be done to drink this cup.

Here we see, as Pink says, the Savior's unanswered fidelity to God. Here we see the supreme evidence of Christ's love for us.

And here we see the basis of our salvation. Holy God literally pouring out his divine wrath on his son.

And as Jesus hangs on the cross of Calvary, he absorbs the full wrath of God.

Folks, can we explain this? Even when we're in heaven, we'll never know all of it. And that's why we'll be worshiping him forever and ever throughout all of eternity.

He who knew no sin became a sin, offering for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him by faith alone.

But oh, beloved, how much God, the holy God, hated sin to punish his own son, to crush his own son.

Three awful hours of darkness on the cross, the Father pours out the full fury of his holy wrath against sin on his one and only son.

Next time you're tempted to sin, remember this, folks. What it cost God to pour on his son that you and I could be reconciled to God.

The Son of God. Jesus at that moment was experiencing, folks, the abandonment and despair that resulted from the outpouring of divine wrath, that he became a curse.

He was the sin bearer. Here is the true meaning of the death of Christ on the cross, that what was happening there, that God was punishing his own beloved son for all the vile, our vile, filthy, rotten, damnable sins that take people to hell.

And God has had mercy on us. Do you see the depth of this?

That Christ in these three hours was taking that separation between him and the

Father. This is beyond, again, our little finite minds can grasp.

Because Jesus took the full wrath of God and he took our hell. Now think of this.

Within the divine trinity, the oneness that existed, there never was any separation from eternity past.

But this time, within these three hours, it's like Christ takes

God's, the Father's abandonment. Never was there a separation.

Never an offense. Never a division between the two of them that were in perfect communion. And yet, he takes this on himself as to substitute the

Lamb of God so that we could be reconciled to God. He takes the separation so that we could be reconciled.

So that we could be accepted. So that we could be cared for and adopted and taken into the arms of God.

You see this? Without this, no wonder Paul says that he preached

Jesus Christ and him crucified. And that's all that really mattered. Because without this, there is no salvation.

And I'm telling you, any so -called churches that's not preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified from the

Bible is not a Bible -believing church. You take this out, there is no salvation again.

There is no atonement. This is the atonement. This is the salvation. Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Listen to Isaiah 53, 4 and 5. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised or crushed for our iniquities.

And the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are healed.

Verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, to crush him. And he has put him to grief.

And when you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days.

That's the resurrection. And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Verse 11.

He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. And by his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many.

For he shall bear their iniquities. Jesus Christ suffered in great agony.

But the suffering here is too deep for us to wade in. I'm telling you, it's deep, deep waters.

He dies just for the unjust. He took the full weight of divine punishment on himself for our sake and to the glory of God.

MacArthur said this. One may understand this in a small way, he says.

It would be this. That a mortal man could spend all eternity in the torments of hell and never begin to exhaust the divine wrath that was heaped on Christ in those few hours.

It wasn't the physical pain of the crucifixion, as dreadful as it was, but that it was the crushing reality that was the wrath of his father upon him.

Number five. The fifth saying is Jesus from the cross was a very simple but profound cry.

It's very short. It's found in John 19, 28, verse 28, chapter 19.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished by the Scripture might be fulfilled, that the

Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. I thirst. Don't you think about the depth of those two words?

Jesus was thirsty. Here is a word of suffering. It's a word of suffering. Here we see the evidence of Christ's humanity.

And as the end neared, Jesus uttered a final plea for some small physical relief in his humanity.

These two simple yet profound words, we behold the true humanity of our Savior as he's thirsty.

I don't know about you, but what really grabs me here, and I'll try to hold back the tears, he's thirsty that we and I can have living water.

He's thirsty here so that you and I can have a well that never will run dry. I want you to think of that.

He took it all, folks. Jesus paid it all. He's thirsty.

Totally, completely dehydrated from the awful, horrible experience from bearing on the cross the sins.

Our sin. And we need to see the humanity of Jesus here. Keep in mind, he's no phantom.

He's a real man. He's the God -man. He's dying. He's suffering. He suffered as the man of sorrows.

Acquainted with our grief. And from this simple yet profound cry, I thirst, we observe that Jesus suffered the full physical effect of the crucifixion.

There was no easing up of the weight of our sins upon him, folks. He took it all the way to the end.

He didn't back down from it. And folks, this is why he came into the world. And we have a hard time praying.

We think it's difficult, but Jesus took it all in his life, his life.

He lived from being born in great humility in a feeding trough.

And then that humility becomes greater and greater all the way to the point of death. To the point of death of a cross,

Paul says. And humiliation and nakedness and shame.

And he's taken our sin. And we have a hard time making it to the prayer closet.

And the reason I mentioned that, I think about what Thomas Watson said. That Christ was more passionate to go to the cross than we are in prayer.

You know, we need to remember these things. And if we remember the cost of how much Christ loves us, folks, going to the prayer closet would be a delight.

You see what I'm saying? It won't be a duty to say, oh, it's hard for me. Even though you are physically tired, but your inner man will say, no,

I got to have time and communion with God. Do you ever feel that? Who else in heaven do we have beside him?

Who else on earth do we have beside him? He's everything.

Think about what the prophet said in Isaiah 55. One, ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.

And you have no money, come and buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread and wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, he says.

Eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Incline your ear and come to me, God says. Hear and your soul shall live.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David. Through Jesus Christ.

Well, let's go to the sixth saying. My time's almost gone. Try to run through this. John chapter 7.

First, I'm sorry, I was saying about living water. The sixth saying of Jesus on the cross.

I have to bypass that because of time, folks. But there is a reference to John chapter 7. We're going there.

We'll talk about Jesus cries out the great day of the feast about living water.

The sixth saying of Jesus from the cross was a cry of victory, folks. How can we lead this out?

We can't. Here we have a word of victory, a cry of victory. Here we see the completion of his sufferings.

Here we see the atonement accomplished, the end of our sins, the fulfillment of the law requirements.

And we see the destruction of Satan's power itself where he crushes his head. Isn't that glorious?

No one else could do this. Only the God -man, only Jesus Christ, the

Messiah. John chapter 19, verse 30 says, when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished.

And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. Folks, in other words, what he was saying paid in full. It's paid for.

This awesome work of redemption was finished, completed once and for all, as the writer of Hebrews says.

Not twice. He doesn't have to come again and die again. And by the way, the next time he comes, he's come to demolish sin once and for all and to put it all under feet.

But he would destroy man and his wrath. So it's Jesus Christ in grace now or wrath to come later.

The awesomeness that he died once and for all. Jesus was triumphant.

There was a finish. It was finished, was a cry of victory. Nothing could be added to it.

Nothing could be taken away from it. It's done. And can I add here, no religious ceremonies, no human merits, no spiritual efforts could ever improve upon the all -sufficient finished work of redemption that Jesus accomplished.

He paid it in full. Jesus paid it all. All to him owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.

He washed it white as snow. Paid in full. Colossians chapter 2 says it so beautifully.

Colossians. Don't you love the wonderful epistle to the Colossians? Let me read this real quick as we come to a closure.

What does it say in chapter 2? In him, verse 11, you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands.

Not with hands. Without hands. By putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

Buried with him in baptism in which you were raised with him through the faith and the working of God. Who raised him from the dead.

And you being dead in your trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh. He has made alive together with him having forgiven you all trespasses.

Having wiped out the handwriting requirements that was against us. Which was contrary to us.

And he has taken it out of the way. Having nailed it to the cross. There it is.

Having disarmed principalities and powers. He made a public spectacle of them.

Triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink.

Regarding a festival or new moons or sabbaths. What he's saying is. He says these are shadows.

Things to come. But the substance is Christ. Christ is the reality. You don't have to go back to the

Old Testament ceremonies. And the Jewish ceremonies. And all that. Jesus has fulfilled it all.

Isn't it wonderful? All in Christ. So much more could be said there.

Let me go to number seven. His seventh and final saying was a prayer.

Bookends. There's bookends. His first prayer was a prayer of forgiveness. And his last prayer was unqualified submission.

Luke chapter 23 verse 46 says. 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. Now let me say this.

As we close in this. Jesus Christ. Everything had been completed.

And now it was time to dismiss his spirit. Again his first words on the cross was a prayer for forgiveness.

Now his last words is a prayer of submission. Submission. This is why

Fannie Crosby said perfect submission. We don't have perfect submission.

Jesus has perfect submission. Here we have a word of contentment. This is what

A .W. Pink says. Contentment. Here we see the Savior back again in communion with the

Father. This is Pink. Perfect submission. Perfect yieldedness to God. A place of eternal security.

Blessedness of communion with God. End quote. So Jesus gave up his life freely.

Willingly. For those he loved. And that is mainly his sheep. John 10.

Just read John chapter 10. Now he finally completes the work of redemption. And it spires on the cross.

And it was not a wrenching struggle. With nails. It was not a frenzied death.

His final passage into death. And every aspect. Was a deliberate act of sovereign will.

That he was sovereignly in control. A lot of times we're not in control of our own death.

Are we? God's the one that is appointed for once man to die. And after this the judgment. But here

Jesus took the judgment on himself. I mean he took the full wrath of God.

But he's in full control. This is all ordained and decreed of God. From God Almighty.

Isn't it glorious? There's nothing that can compare to this message.

That's why brother Seth said. We should go tell it on the mountains. We should shout it from the hilltops.

This is people. This is what they need to hear. Repent or perish. Believe the gospel. It's good news.

Perfect submission. Contentment. The apostle John says. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Quietly. He does it submissively. After he drank the cup.

He simply yields up his perfect holy life to the

Father. On that cross like an altar. That was his altar of sacrifice.

He was the lamb. He was God's lamb. And God crushed him. Because of your sin.

My sin. We need to keep this before our eyes. Looking unto Jesus. Amen. Consider him.

He calmly, majestically, gracefully displays his utter sovereign power. To the glory of God.

By the way. The Puritans believed this. That Jesus first and foremost died to the glory of God.

Our salvation is secondary. You see that? Everything Jesus did was for God's glory.

And that's the way we should live. We have a cross to bear now. We follow him.

We deny ourselves now. And by the way. We do it all to the glory of God. And we love one another.

As Christ loved us. The seven sayings of Jesus. Last words from the cross. Calvary has a tremendous far -reaching significance for us who believe in his name.

His holy sacrifice is everything, beloved. Looking at his death upon the cross.

And the seven last sayings he uttered from the cross. He cried out. It was a fact in history.

But can I add a little bit to that? It is a fact in history. But it's more than that to us. To the child of God.

It is history. Macomb Gresham said that. But more than that.

It was the supreme sacrifice that secures our salvation.

He secured it. Bought and paid for. No one can take this from us, folks.

They can take your life. They can burn you. They can kill you. Behead you. They can run you over.

And I'm telling you. It will usher you right into glory. But I cannot take salvation from you.

If you have it in Jesus Christ. And you need to make sure you have it. Make your calling and election sure, folks.

Today is the day of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you shall be saved. And that means to repent.

And turn from your wicked ways. And turn to the Lord in faith. Jesus doesn't make it hard.

But I'm telling you. The cross has a cost. But if you look at this. Our little cost is nothing.

It's nothing. The final words of Jesus on the cross show and demonstrate to us.

That we can have utmost confidence. By faith. In what

Jesus. Who he is. And what he accomplished. His person. And his works.

Amen. Isaiah said it. Who has believed

I report unto whom the arm of the Lord has been revealed. It has to be revealed.

And by the way. The word I preach to you today. From these scriptures. By the seven sayings of Christ on the cross.

Is a revelation. It's not my opinion. It's not built upon man and sinking sand.

It's upon Christ. The solid rock. I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.

Have you believed in him? Have you repented? Come to Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Father.

In my heart now. I just want to say I've offered this to you. To your people.

And my heart cries now. In my utmost being. Innermost being.

Holy, holy, holy. Lord God almighty. How can we even thank you enough.

For the unspeakable gift. The free gift of your son. That cost you everything

Lord. You sent him from heaven. Heaven's best. You didn't send an angel. You didn't send an archangel.

You sent your one and only son. One with you. Who created the worlds.

Uncreated. The son of the living God. That came flesh.

That became flesh. Lord. Your one and only son. Sent to a cross.

Crucified. To take our vile sins and offer them as. Up to you.

High and lifted up on Mount Calvary. On that altar. Oh Lord. We see your perfect justice.

We see your mercy. All the attributes displayed in perfection.

At the cross. At the cross. Where I first saw the light. As Isaac Watts says.

We see our substitute. We see the Lamb of God. And Lord most of all.

We see the place. And where we should have been and deserved. But yet the

Lord Jesus Christ takes that hell. And that abandonment in our place. Our substitute.

Our Passover. Lord it's going to take all eternity to thank you for this.

It will. Lord we love you. And we thank you for all you alone are worthy.

We praise you. We bless you. And help us oh Lord Jesus I pray.

To follow you and bear. That we may bear our cross. And deny ourselves for your sake. Cheerfully.

Gladly. As hard as it may be. But Lord as Thomas Kempis says.

Carry the cross patiently. And then it will carry us. Hallelujah. Thank you for your mercies.

Your compassions. That never fail. May we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to you

Lord. That is pleasing to you. That we may serve you to the end of our days.