A WORD OF PRAYER (First Word from the Cross)
#068 A WORD OF PRAYER (First Word from the Cross)
Scripture Luke 23:33-34 NIV Orig. 3/11/62 (2/80)
Rewr. March 4, 1987
Passage: 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Purpose: Beginning a series on the words of Christ from the cross, and therein to speak to my people about the prayer of Jesus, and his role as intercessor.
Keywords: Christ Mediator Easter Prayer
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introduction
There is no better place to begin a study of Jesus’ intercessory prayer on the cross than to examine other places where we find Jesus engaging in prayer. Clearly, his prayer-life and his spiritual purpose are tied strongly together.
Go, in your mind’s eye, and take a position where you can view Jesus at prayer. Go first to the Jordan and watch His baptism. Luke 3:21f “As Jesus was baptized and prayed, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came in the bodily form of a dove.” God crowns Christ’s surrender in death with the dove which is the symbol of peace.
Then in the wilderness view him praying and fasting. In Matthew 4:1f the devil sought to tempt Jesus to find a less painful way, and less effective, to work at the objective of God. It was through prayer and fasting that Jesus achieved.
Observe occasions when Jesus was beset by weariness. He sought a place of prayer. Mark 1:32f “And at even . . . they brought unto him all that were diseased, . . . and all the city was gathered at the door. . . . And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” We have different ideas today about “resorting,” but for Jesus it meant “to pray.” When Jesus ministered to the needs around Him, He gave of his spiritual vitality and strength. It could only be reclaimed in communion with God the Father.
On the occasion when the apostles were called, Luke 6:12f, “ . . . he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day . . . he chose twelve.” How much of this dependence and helplessness on the part of Jesus must we see revealed before we reckon with our own dependence?”
So, now at Calvary, the crowning achievement of Jesus’ life, and again, we find Him at prayer.
I. The Word of Prayer Speaks First of Priority. V34 “Father, forgive them.” This crisis hour requires strong intervention. Pain seems to bring out the best in people who are the more oriented to it. We who seldom experience it are more taken with self-pity. Too easily accepting sin likewise creates a fantasy of rationalization.
There is a correlation between suffering and sin. It is not always the sinner who suffers. The sufferer is not necessarily the one who has sinned. Behind it all is grace, pointing us through the crisis to forgiveness and peace. Here is Jesus, suffering unto death. His suffering is sin-related, but it is not His crime being exorcised on the cross. He chooses to submit to the will of God that we, you and I, might know His strong intervention in our behalf.
Such suffering, related to the will of God, has eternal consequence. Philippians 3:10 “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death.”
The priority of the moment is that this historical event must express the ultimate will of God. We betray ourselves doctrinally by over-zealous denominationalism. Christ died for our sin is priority. Satan tricks us morally with issues: equality; sexuality; drugs. Being morally right delivers not from sin.
Thus, in prayer on the cross, Jesus teaches us this tremendously important lesson of priority: His determination to do the will of God. Luke 22:42 “Not my will, but Thine.” John 1:13 “Born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, nor . . . man, but of God.” Jesus sought for all to know that the Father was to be trusted.
Paul admonished Ephesians (6:4) fathers, and Christians in general, that they were to be related to their children in trust.
The means of forgiveness is set forth. We must know of “the more excellent way.” We must know that it is attainable: by whom, through whom. We must know the cross is the means.
II. The Word of Prayer Speaks Next of Persistence. V34 “Father, forgive them.” Here is a beautiful illustration of the expressiveness of the Greek language. The English translates, “Then said Jesus.” The Greek, however, contains intense repetition. “He kept on saying, over and over, ‘Father, forgive them.’” As He completes this death-dealing passage through Jerusalem: “Father, forgive them.” His hands and feet are nailed: “Father, forgive them.” The Cross is roughly seated, “Father, forgive them.” Of the jeering crowd, “Father, forgive them.” Of the gambling soldiers, “Father, forgive them.” And the disciples would never be able to forget this scene at Calvary.
Such persistence is typified by His fellowship with the Father. Jesus was content to do the will of God. In Deuteronomy 3:25f, Moses sought to go over the Jordan—God said to Moses, “Speak no more unto me of this matter” (wroth). In Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah’s dreams of awakening were quashed. “I have been made a laughing stock all day long.”
Jesus encourages us to this same fellowship with the Father. Samson is an Old Testament example. Judges 16:28 “Give me strength only this once, O God, and let me at one stroke be avenged on the Philistines for my eyes.” A New Testament example is Stephen: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:60.
We must also note here for whom Jesus prayed: those believers with breaking heart who accompanied Him here; but as well, the soldiers, the temple police, gloating Sadducee, and grimacing Pharisee; Roman and Jew alike; and for us today, South African of Cape Town or Soweto, Lebanese, of whatever extraction. God seeks our forgiveness and Christ arranged it. The them is us, and we must pursue it.
III. The Word of Prayer Speaks Lastly of Performance. “Father, forgive them. We are guilty beyond measure.” Our guilt is multiplied. We are guilty of sin as charged. Matthew 15:18 “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”
We are made twice guilty when we pay only lip service to the Christ of the cross. I Peter 4:13 “Rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
The real performance of our lives revolves around the cross of Jesus. Do you understand why He went to the cross? Do you understand it was with your sin (not sins) in mind? Can you grasp that unless you allow His death to cover your sin, nothing else ever will?
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb is spilt.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide, What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide; Whiter than snow you may be today.
Grace Greater than Our Sin, #164
The prayer of Jesus performed one thing more. It eased the agony through which He was going. It was not the agony of raw nerves, untended wounds, or insult, or indifferent masses, then and now. It was the agony of separation from the Father.
Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne, Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.
Sweet Hour of Prayer
Lest we forget, nothing shows His consciousness of His Sonship like this prayer: God’s will first, and dealing with man’s sin effectively.
What remains is obedience on our part.
***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***