THE DRAWING POWER OF CHRIST
#010 THE DRAWING POWER OF CHRIST
Scripture John 12:20-32 Orig. 1/7/64 (1/75)
Rewr. 8/21/87
Passage: 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up[a] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Purpose: To show the superior magnetism of Christ for the work to which He came.
Keywords: Christ, Nature Commitment
Introduction
We watched with abandon as a unique event unfolded in our back yard. It was a Sunday afternoon in New Orleans. One of the girls was at home from college and had brought a friend along. The drama had nothing to do with anything that night precipitate from normal Sunday pursuits.
It all started, unknown to us, some weeks before when a wood duck had laid her eggs in a tree across form our house. The ground below the tree was boggy wet at the time the eggs were laid, but now, in early summer, the only water in sight was in a swimming pool, beyond our fence, in the adjoining yard.
It was time for her ducklings to get to water. One after the other she pushed them from the nest, followed them to the ground, and led the determined charge to the water she had seen from the tree. The first thing we knew was that they were all in our back yard, stymied by our fence, and now joined by every child within four blocks of our house. We were impressed by this mother duck. She showed remarkable daring, supreme devotion, and an almost unsettling determination to provide the necessary thing for her charges.
Fortunately, a knowledgeable neighbor came to her rescue. Duck and ducklings were soon rounded up and taken to safe water not far away. From time to time, when I see wild wood ducks, I wonder if any are offspring of those who passed suddenly through our yard and our lives on a busy Sunday afternoon.
It is with even more daring, and devotion, and determination that the Christ seeks to make His presence known in our hectic lives. Sidlow Baxter refers to “the most remarkable characteristic of Christ’s preaching [as] its sublime egoism.” He knew that His work was the most important work in the world. He knew that to “be lifted up” would be to “draw all” people unto himself.
I. Consider, First, the Superlative Daring of His Message. V32 “And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” This statement is worthy of our closest personal scrutiny. Note the use of multiple personal pronouns—I, me, my. Note the strong reference to the crucifixion—“If I be lifted up.” How much easier for us to understand; the disciples did not have His example and yet, because we see so clearly, we come to take it for granted. Note the certainty of assumed success—“I will draw all . . . unto me.” Don’t overlook the descriptive adjective and superlative form, “all.”
The burden of this text for nearly two thousand years is that Jesus could say “all.” And there have been variant interpretations. “All” come to grace or to judgment. “All” come under the sway of the gospel. “All” are participants in this millennial age. “All” are defined in relation to the church. “All” are without distinction instead of “all” being without exception.
Clearly, Jesus did not expect such a total assimilation of people into the kingdom. Consider the Beatitudes, so clearly distinguishing between those in and out of the kingdom. Reread the parable of the sower, contemplating those gospel seeds never brought to fruition.
We must also understand better the developing circumstances of this event. The day began with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem just days before the crucifixion. Some Greeks approached Phillip about an interview with Jesus. Phillip, uncertain because they are Gentile, seeks out Andrew for assistance. Together, they go to Jesus for advice. Jesus acknowledges that a staggering moment has come. V23 “The hour of the glorification of the Son of Man.” It reminds us of John 11:4, where Jesus said of Lazarus’ illness, “it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified.”
As best we can infer, Jesus did not grant the interview. In life, He was the Jews’ Messiah. Only in death would He be the world’s Saviour. There was a battle years ago over Ted Clark’s book Saved By His Life; this seems to refute such a concept. It is this message that has sent gospel chroniclers to the end of the earth.
II. Consider More, Now, the Supreme Devotion of His Manner. V27f “Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I to this hour. (What shall I say?) Father, glorify Thy name.”
Observe His capacity for love of God. We marvel at our natural world and creature things done out of instinct, such as the wood ducks leaving the nest. The greater marvels are the human acts of self-sacrifice: On flight 255 out of Detroit in 1987, a mother, realizing that the plane was going down, unbuckled her own seat belt and draped her body over that of her 4-year-old daughter; the child was the only survivor of the crash.
Jesus offers Himself in love. The Shema is a Hebrew prayer based on Deuteronomy 6:5—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, soul, and strength.” So, also, He taught in Luke 10:27, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thine heart, soul, strength, and mind, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Observe His compassion for those around Him. To this end He would stay on track. To this purpose God had brought Him forth. I John 4:19 “We love Him because He . . . loved us.”
Observe also His hatred of sin—not hatred of “sins,” particular ones, but rather His hatred of SIN. How can we, claiming to be His followers, take delight in anything that brings Him such displeasure. We are sinners, but it is not us He hates, but the unrenounced sin that robs us of victory, and robs our Lord of the fellowship He seeks to have with each of us.
III. Finally, Consider the Superior Dedication to His Mission. V25 “He that loveth his life shall lose it, He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” In loving life, the sacrifice becomes the more acute, the destiny more provoking. Jesus loved life with a purpose achieved by no other.
The one thing that He could not love, nay, that He hated, was this necessary separation from the Father. But He would endure it forever if necessary. It was in losing what He loved (the world) that He gained what He loved the more (His place at the Father’s side).
Conclusion
The Indian mystic Tagore (w43p126) has written a piece which should speak yet to all of us. He pictures life from the unwholesome vantagepoint of a dismal alleyway of a great, crowded, uncaring city. Occasionally, one sees a patch of blue sky, feels a sudden cool breeze, is warmed by some broken passage of the sun. And always we ask, “Are these things real? Sky, breeze, warmth of sun!” But, day in and day out, there are those other experiences that are never questioned. There are dust and rubbish, and they are real. The noise of traffic, jolting carts, and jostling crowds in the marketplaces: No one asks, “Are these real?” Refuse and smoke and corruption and death are all too real to inquire. But so are the blue sky, and cool breeze, and warming, life-giving sun; and so is the SON, WHO CALLS US TO Himself. He reminds us that by His stripes we are healed.
A WORD OF PERCEPTION (Fourth Word from the Cross)
#075 A WORD OF PERCEPTION (Fourth Word from the Cross)
Scripture Matthew 27:45-46 NIV Orig. Date 4/1/62 (3/80)
Rewr. Dates 3/25/87
Passage: 45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lama sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
Purpose: Continuing the Words from the Cross series with a special emphasis placed upon the sovereignty of God in behalf of His Son and His people.
Keywords: Christ, Death Sovereignty, God Commitment
Judgment Suffering
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introductions
Somewhere, Thornton Wilder has a significant line that declares “In love’s service, only wounded soldiers will do.” In that context, then, it should not seem unusual to us, or unreasonable, that Jesus became a “wounded soldier.” It was to that end that Old Testament prophecies foresaw Him as “man of sorrows.” But we must interpret that correctly.
Here we discover the degree to which Christ would go as a “wounded soldier.” More, it testifies that there is no degree to which He would not go “in love’s service.”
Eli, Eli; lama sabachthani? That is, My God, My God; Why hast Thou forsaken me?
What pain hurts more than aloneness? What hurt weighs more heavily on us than that of feeling forsaken, especially unjustly forsaken? Off-beat theologians have emerged, and in their effort to explain, have explained away this text. Jesus, they say, had lapsed into delirium. Others, that though conscious, the pain rendered Him verbally out-of-control. Yet others suggest that He was not forsaken but simply felt so.
Jesus did not ever give in to the flesh. Why should we think it is happening here? There was neither unconsciousness, uncontrolled delirium, nor mistaken anguish. Jesus felt forsaken because he was forsaken. For sin to be effectively dealt with, it was necessary for God’s complete disposition of it to take place. Christ was the instrument through which that disposition took place.
After having seen the great dancer, Pavlova, perform, someone asked her to explain the artistic meaning of her dance. She stood there drained of the last bit of her energy and replied, “Do you think I would have danced it if I could have said it?” For Jesus, words are an inarticulate description of God’s intent to save. The cross must be endured if we are to have perception of God’s love.
I. It is Perception, First, of Supernatural Covenant. Luke 24:44 “. . . all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, . . . , concerning me.”
Surely, this is not the only time that Jesus questioned the strange events of His life. Perhaps, as a small boy, He wondered of the unique events of His birth. Luke 2:19, “She pondered these things.” Perhaps, as an adolescent, He questioned why things of interest to others His age, did not interest Him. Luke 2:49, “. . . Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Even as an adult, it shouldn’t surprise us if He wondered, despaired of unbelief all around. Matthew 22:5, “They made light of it and went . . . away.” Mark 3:5, “Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.”
And whenever such times had enveloped Him, He always before had felt the deeper wealth of assurance. Boyish questions were answered with meaning of His name—Jesus: “He would save His people.” Adolescent wonderings were assuaged by His own love for the Father, and the Father’s house.
As an adult, little could have been more obvious than the signs of God’s presence. At His baptism, there had been the voice boldly declaring “Thou art my beloved son.” During the temptation in the wilderness “angels came and ministered unto Him.”
Starting at Cana one day at a wedding: John 2:11, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”
On a mountain side one day: Matthew 17:1f, “. . . There appeared . . . Moses and Elijah talking with Him.”
Toward the end of His ministry, at Bethany: John 11:41f, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of the people . . . that they may believe . . . Lazarus, come forth.”
Even with all of this, His plea is the plea of a man alone. Not over-wrought psyche playing tricks; not low pain-threshold binding reason. It is divine covenant being completed with all of its wretched consequences.
There had likewise been 3 words to the cross. “If Thou be the Christ, come down,” was the one thing He could not do. “He saved others, Himself He cannot save,” was a true saying. “Remember me, when. . .” was a reminder that we, too, have our crosses in following.
II. It is Perception of Superhuman Commitment. John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world.” There are, of course, those who argue that Jesus was not forsaken. They claim some physical distress, that Jesus simply quoted Psalm 22 in its present context. Psalm 22:23: “Praise Him ye who fear the Lord; . . . do Him honor; stand in awe of Him. . . For He has not scorned the downtrodden, . . . but gave heed to him when he cried out.”
But the point is, here at Calvary, was commitment in the flesh. Luke 22:44 “Being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat were as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” It was the kind of commitment forever an example to us. John 11:42, “. . . because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou has sent me.” Luther and Calvin (233T20p139) say that these were hours spent in the torments of the damned.
Rambach said in Meditations On the Sufferings of Christ, “God was now dealing with Him not as a loving and merciful Father with His child, but as an offended and righteous judge of an evildoer. The heavenly Father now regards His Son to be the greatest sinner to be found beneath the sun, and discharges on Him the whole weight of His wrath.”
It is time, then, to pursue the measure of our own commitment. Isaiah 53:9f “He made His grave with the wicked . . . He was numbered with the transgressors. Galatians 3:13 “. . . redeemed us from the curse . . . being made a curse for us.” Philippians 2:8 “He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
What kind of commitment do we offer to compare with that? We expect to be painless Christians. An hour or two on Sunday morning is as near to Calvary as we intend to go. I forgot my checkbook so I’ll rattle some change God’s way. We plan our commitment around mediocrity.
III. That Brings Us to Consider Superficial Circumstance (Uncircumstantial) “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” Jesus surrenders to the high cost of God’s will. So are such times when we likewise must.
As Gideon (Judges 6:13) “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? As Elijah (I Kings 19:2) under Jezebel’s threat he “arose and went for his life,” As Job (Job 30:20) “I cry unto Thee, and Thou dost not hear me.” The psalmist (Psalm 73:13) “. . . Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.” All would stand before us to declare faithlessness on their part, faithfulness on God’s part.
So often, that that is real in our experience is to become the circumstance of God’s blessing. Yes, Jesus was separated from the Father, forsaken even. But to remain as companions of sin is to remain separated from the Father. Our hope of restoration was fulfilled by Christ on the Cross.
Conclusion
Back in the early part of this decade the USS Hope made the newspapers for the last time. That ship, having brought medical aid to tens of thousands in third world nations, was trapped on a sand-bar on its way to the scrap yard.
There are too many people who have given up on hope. But we Christians must be the first to proclaim it. Because of God’s covenant, and Christ’s commitment to it, I can find reason to trust even in the most circumspect of circumstances. Ships of the sea, even ships of state, may flounder, but Christ gives me reason to believe through every consequence of my life.
A WORD OF PROVISION (Third Word from the Cross)
#074 A WORD OF PROVISION (Third Word from the Cross)
Scripture John 19:25-27 NIV Orig. Date 3/21/1965 (3/1980)
Rewr. Dates 3/19/1987
Passage: 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Purpose: Continuing a series of Words from the Cross, directing our thoughts to the salvation accomplished on the cross by the means of Christ’s gift of Himself
Keywords: Biography, Mary Crucifixion Salvation Blood Christ, Death
Easter
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introduction
How often, when attempting to console a friend who has lost a loved one are we moved to say, “I know how you feel!”? But we know that unless we have ourselves walked through that “lonesome valley,” we cannot know how they feel.
Even so is any word that reflects on Mary’s feelings here. How do we contemplate the feelings of Mary as she watched Jesus die? Recalling Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2:35), “a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,” can we comprehend her feeling? Do you suppose she recalled those words as she looked on?
Hebrew women depended on sibling caretakers just as elderly mothers do today. Perhaps more so. Joseph was surely dead. There were other children, four sons, at least two daughters. But there was only one like her first born. Now she can only stand by and watch.
Jesus is dying; and he is dying the shameful death of a criminal. She had to watch. She felt the same pain that He felt. His blood coursing down the cross was as it were her own. She could see the gaping wound, the trickling blood, the wounded hands and feet, the parched lips and tongue, yet she could do nothing. She remembered, perhaps, a child’s feet, ever-present near her own. She saw in her mind’s eye, the boyhood hands, skillfully learning from Joseph, the trade of carpenter. And every taunt, from the indifferent crowd, tore through her heart like a dagger.
Perhaps she remembered the angel (Luke 2:10), “I bring you good tidings of great joy.” She recalled the shepherds (Luke 2:20), “return[ing], glorifying and praising God.” Were the shepherds deceived, the angel a deceiver? How else to explain this now? The word here spoken was an intimately personal one spoken to His mother, but with deep meaning for all of us.
I. Consider, First, a Provision Centered in Human Need. John 19:26, “He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son.” We hear Jesus address an apparent need, the care of his mother in her senescence. She is left in the care of a son of the cross. She was 45, perhaps 50. There were 6-7 siblings (Matthew 13:55-56). Galatians 1:19 speaks of James “the Lord’s brother.” John 7:5: ”5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” At this time, none of the others are followers, and Jesus wants her under redemptive care.
Not only is this a testament to God’s providence, but His foreknowledge as well. John probably outlived all others. Mary will know comparative ease in the distant confines of Ephesus.
It must also be noted that there is spiritual need here as well. It is not as son, but as Saviour, that Jesus reaches out in her behalf. There were those deep forebodings.
Shepherds were already mentioned, as were the angels. The wise men (Matthew 2:11f) were learned astrologers from the distant east, worshiping, gifting. Luke 1:42 is Elisabeth’s Magnificat—“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”
There were spectacular displays in His life: The Passover pilgrimage when He was twelve; manifestations of healing, teaching. There are stranger forebodings to beset her now. We must see her humanity, so unique, yet still one of us. It is disparaging and dishonest to see her as other than sinner. Jesus must gently remove Himself as son, that she might see Him as Saviour. Ephesians 2:16, “That He might reconcile both [Jew and Greek] unto God in one body on the cross.”
Fine, deeply religious, God-honoring woman that she was, needed not a son, but a Saviour.
II. A Provision Consummated in Manly Compliance. John 19:27, “Then saith He to the disciple, Behold
Thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto His . . . home.” Thus, we concluded Jesus’s intent to see her under the care of a believer.
John had given evidence of the change in his own life. He had been “Boanerges”--son of thunder. He would become “the disciple Jesus loved.” From fisherman to fisher of men. From net mender to knee bender. I John 1:1-2, “1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you . . . .)”
John would be the one, the only one (?), able to help her keep the perspective of Saviour. Not even His own mother must cloud the issue of who He really is: Son of God, Saviour. Multiple references show John’s insight. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Where John could make such a difference for Mary was in the good news of salvation through the cross. John undauntedly proclaimed Christ as Lord. John only records the interview with Nicodemus. John 3:17, “God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Again, only John tells of the woman at the well. John 4:13f, “Whoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but who drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”
He tells of the lame man in Jerusalem. John 5:39f, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life . . . . And ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.”
As the family of Christ in the world today, how vital that we proclaim Him Lord, nothing else. John 9:4, “I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is yet day, for the night cometh.” The time comes when the mind is closed against the Lord. Satan works his doom-saying work through sin that clouds the heart to faith. Those who show themselves as Christ’s, show of their Lord.
Throughout history, those times when our Churches have been strongest was when Christ was most clearly enthroned. Mary must not be a detriment by beholding Him as son. How much clearer is our compulsion to proclaim Him Lord?
Church/Lives/Work/Pleasure
Around the world people seek to maintain their status quo, even with guns and tanks.
We are taught to pursue truth. Too many are pathetically like the blind men in the children’s story describing an elephant. One at side, trunk, leg, ear. God’s purpose remains to reveal truth through Christ.
We are facing the corruption of power on a world scale. A historian wrote of the corruption in NYC a hundred years ago. “The good people got tired of being good before the bad people got tired of being bad.”
The Real in our world today is Jesus. The Truth is Jesus. The Power capable of confronting corruption is Jesus. What are we doing about it? He is God’s Son, Saviour, who made provision for the sin of Mary and the Jews, but not for the Jew only and, as well, not only for us WASPS.
Conclusion
A businessman made an appointment to meet with his banker friend. His purpose was to share with his friend of the great estate of Christ to save. As he shared Christ’s love in that He died on the cross to save us, the banker became quite annoyed. “His destiny was in His own hands,” said the banker. “How could Christ’s death redeem me? If I am to be saved, it will be through my efforts.”
The businessman called attention to another man, known to them both waiting to see the banker. “He is coming to tell you of some need. He will press for a loan to meet that need. Will you grant him the right to set the conditions of the loan?” “Absolutely not! I will determine the conditions!” said the banker. “You stand in the same relationship to God. He is the great BANKER. We the poor, helpless sinner. We come to Him for mercy, pardon. Do we presume to set conditions, or do we accept His own?” (251T43p188)
A WORD OF PROMISE (Second Word from the Cross)
#069 A WORD OF PROMISE (Second Word from the Cross)
Scripture Luke 23:39-43, NIV Orig. Date 3/18/62 (3/80)
Rewr. Dates 3/12/87
Passage: 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[a]”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Purpose: The second of a seven part series with an emphasis on the meaning of the crucifixion.
Keywords: Christ, Redeemer Easter Cross God, Word of
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introduction
It is interesting that the antagonism faced by Jesus was the antagonism of the religious. Oh, there was some of the other kind, but Jesus had been friend to sinners. He was on the cross now to die for sinners. He has taken His place between two thieves.
The religious leaders had been careful to create an atmosphere of suspicion relative to Jesus, and many of the people were afraid to look with openness at what He was doing.
Mark 15:31 “the chief priests . . .said . . . with the scribes ‘he saved others; himself he cannot save.’”
Luke 23:35 “. . .the rulers also scoffed at him.”
Matthew 27:41 “. . . the chief priests mocking him.”
Of these two men with whom Jesus is dying, one “railed” v39 blasphémeó —"to speak evil of.” The other “rebuked” v40 epitimaó—charged.
It was not by accident that Jesus came to die between these two. Two nameless souls, they, who were suddenly thrust into the gaze of eternity. All of Jesus life He had been the friend of sinners. He would not be separated from them in death.
Who they were, no one knows. Bandits perhaps, like those in Jesus’ story of the Samaritan. It has been put forth that they were associates of Barabbas. Insurrectionists, like him. He was the one released by Pilate (Matthew 27:15). The insurrectionist movement was begun to oppose Roman domination but it had degenerated into a habitat for thieves and criminals.
In this context, one suddenly faced up to himself, and then his accomplice. This man between them was also dying. But He was doing so courageously. There was even something regal about His bearing. He prayed for the soldiers “Father, forgive them.” For His antagonists among the leaders and on-lookers, “Father, forgive them.” He suddenly perceived Jesus to be, not an enemy, but a friend. It is that awakening that has brought untold millions to the awakening of faith over the centuries. He no longer saw a cross, but a throne; not thorns about His brow, but a crown; the blood he saw no longer meant death, but life.
I. In This Context, We Must Note First a Promise Defied. V39 “And one of these criminals blasphemed him saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself, and us.”
This man seems almost to believe. We know that Jesus could have done so. Could relieve them of this dying sting. But this man! Can he believe this of Jesus? Like so many, his first thought is of his fleshly body, not his eternal soul.
His anger at being here confuses the promise.
Anger is not of itself a bad thing.
James 1:19 “be slow to anger.”
Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and sin not.”
Matthew 5:22 “Whoever is angry without cause.”
Anger, and the anguish it espouses, can be a good thing for the believer. Emily Brontë wrote in Remembrance—“Once drinking of that divinest anguish, how could I seek the empty world again?” Anguish, you see, can be an ally leading to honesty, and faith, and Christ. And not that only, it is the truest friend of repentance.
But this man’s anger and anguish turn to arrogance. He stands ready to sacrifice everything to his own self-interest. Proverbs 26:12, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”
Anguish, born of arrogance, will find no relief. Not unlike Oscar Wilde in his poem Ballad of Reading Gaol,
“The vilest deeds like poison weeds bloom well in prison air;
It is only what is good in man that wastes and withers there:
Pale anguish—anguish—keeps the heavy gate, the warder of despair.”
I Peter 5:5 “. . . All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”
II. Notice Now a Promise Subscribed. V40 “But the other answered . . . 42 Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”
Some who had approached Jesus, and some at the cross now, insisted on some sign of power. Just a sign, Jesus, and we will believe: Many in the world today, some in this room today.
But Jesus had spoken all that there is to say. “The only sign that you will be given is that of Jonas”: a sign of death, a sign of submergence and submission, a sign of dependence and selflessness. And too many of us, like too many of them, will have none of it.
“Give us something to help us remember Golgotha.” Give us proof or forget it. Write out a check for the bottom line.
Here was one man who needed no further sign. I remind you, it was not death that converted him. It was life, Jesus’ life. He saw through new eyes. In fact, he saw through no eyes at all, but through his heart. John 6:40, “This is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life.” John 4:42 (Samaritans) “We have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
He, here and forever, makes himself accountable to Christ. Have we done so? You and I? “Well, no,” you say, “But I am not a thief.” When you keep for yourself, what belongs to another, you are a thief. This has nothing to do with possessions. It has to do with us. We belong to another. But we selfishly, greedily withhold what He desires the most: ourselves, our friendship, or time and presence and growth.
III. There Is a Final Element to the Promise. It Is a Promise Supplied. V43 “And He said unto him, Truly I say to you that today you will be with me in paradise.” It was a promise of compassion. Without hesitation the promise is made for Jesus recognizes faith. He opens Himself to the hurting offender. The one who sincerely seeks will always find. He will find all that he wants and more.
But it is essential to see Himself as He is. If we would know Jesus, we would, as well, know our sin, our need. In that comprehension of self, Jesus stands the more revealed. Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour, and I will give you rest.”
As it was a promise of compassion, it was also a promise of comprehension. Jesus meant every word that He spoke. It was a promise of God’s blessing. He didn’t have much of that left. For us, it is a promise of life purpose.
It was a promise of forgiveness. Story of adoptive parents who used an old, tattered, dirty pair of shoes to remind the child from what he came as discipline. Our heavenly Father does not bring out the tattered memories of the past, but promises that through Jesus “our iniquities He will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34).
It was a promise of death-watch. Jesus has already told them to weep not for Him. He will next “commend” His spirit. He has spoken to the thief urging upon him this new life.
It was finally, then, a promise of salvation. Heaven is a place. It is immediately accessible. It is presided over by Christ. It is a place for sinners.
Conclusion
Thus, Jesus herein sets His final seal of satisfaction on what He had given His life to fulfill and declare: “This day thou shalt be with me.” It is not fantasy, but reality.
As declared by James S. Stewart, “The Life and Teaching of Jesus” (p. 170), “. . . that in a single moment from the dust heaps and cinder heaps of life any ruined, hopeless soul, bound in affliction and iron, may pass straight to the perfect release of forgiveness, and wear the white robes of a saint.”
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***