Matthew 27:45,46 (Click title for audio access)
"Words From A Cross" • 4.17.11 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Because Matthew arranges His gospel in a topical manner, his rendering of the crucifixion narrative leaves out a few items chronologically. The other gospels fill in the gaps that are missing.
- Matthew 27:45 recounts information from the 6th hour, noon, until the 9th hour, which is 3PM. Mark 15:25 tells us that Jesus was put on the cross at the third hour, at 9AM.
- What happened in those three criticial hours? What was said and to whom?
- Our purpose this week is to look at four of these final pre-death statements from Christ.
Text
- Turn in your bibles to Luke 23. Matthew has told us that the Lord's cross has been set into place. The crowd that is passing by are wagging their heads at Him.
- The chief priests are openly mocking Jesus, challenging His ability to save Himself and calling into question His relationship with His Father.
- Even the criminals, themselves suffering under the cruel sentence of crucifixion, are using their limited breath to revile, to insult Jesus with the same words.
- In this cacophonous moment, with all of this ringing in His ears, Jesus calls out to God with these words.
• Luke 23:34 : "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' And they divided His garments and cast lots." : In the middle of all the hostile noise of the crowd, the words of our Lord rise up like a clear bell.
- He calls out "Father." Let us understand something here. Rumors of Jesus' legitimacy had swirled around Him for most of His life.
- Here again, as Jesus was on the cross, a derisive questioning of His relationship to His Father was again put out for people to ponder.
- If there was ever a moment when the question would be most questionable, it would be now in the eyes of the crowd. Would God's Son be subjected to the cruelty and humiliation of crucifixion?
- Yet, in the midst of the question, Jesus calls out "Father." He did not lose His place as the Son. In the midst of their insults, Jesus did not forget whose He was or who He was!
- What would your first words have been? We have all been insulted, though none have been insulted to the degree that Jesus faces here. What are your words or thoughts in that moment?
- Maybe you would address your enemy and rebuff them with similar content. That's only natural. That's not what Jesus did! He did not address His enemies, but His Father!
- When you and I are treated in an ill fashion, we must take this as our example: God is your Father and He should hear from you first!
- What did Jesus go to His Father with? Was He filled with anger and vitriol? Did He call down fire and brimstone? Did He call for those angels that He had access to?
- His voice, filled with love, called out with His available power, for them to be forgiven!
- Forgiveness. The word means to "send away from." In the Leviticus 16, a goat was to be chosen to bear the sins of the camp and then released into the wilderness, sent away for good.
- Here is the offender and there goes his sin, out into the wilderness, never to return.
- Why Lord? Why would you forgive them? Why not strike them down and use your power to hurt them in the same way that you have been hurt?
- Because that is what we, fallen creatures with a sinful disposition, would do! It was not in His nature, even when pushed to the greatest extremes, to strike back.
- He asks the Father to forgive them. It's important to understand first, that Jesus chose to forgive them. It's not likely that He "felt" like doing that particularly!
- For years, I have learned one very important thing: Your feelings FOLLOW your obedience! It is rarely true the other way around!
- Secondly, notice that He called out for their forgiveness apart from their asking for it.
- They would not have asked Jesus for forgiveness, as they would not believe that their insults would have held any meaning!
- Jesus did not wait for them to ask. He forgave them in advance, teaching us something very important: Forgiveness is something that we should dispense immediately!
- Where we might have responded with venom, the Son of Man responded with kindness. He would forgive them because He knows this truth: They know not what they do!
- "Wait a minute! They knew what they were doing! They had asked for the crucifixion and set up this scenario exactly to their liking!" This is true, but that's not what Jesus is referring to.
- They could never know what their insults and actions would bring to bear upon the soul of the Lord. They could not have known the depths of what they had caused! Nobody knows that!
- When people hurt you, even intentionally, they truly have no idea of the depth of pain that they have caused. They will never know the extent of how they have harmed you.
- On this account, Jesus calls for their forgiveness. Final point on what this statement teaches us: Forgiveness is not given out with an intended change in mind!
- Notice the words: They divided His garments and cast lots. Nothing changed! They kept doing what it was they did. Jesus' forgiveness affected, accomplished nothing in them.
- You might feel that that is the goal of forgiveness, to change someone's mind or actions. That is not the goal. While it did not change them, the bitterness of spirit did not harm Him!
- The bitterness could not harm the Lord because He didn't hold onto any amount of it!
- Now, look down a few verses to Luke 23:39. Matthew 27:44 tells us that both criminals insulted the Lord from their own crosses. Over a little time, something had changed.
• Luke 23:39 : "Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.'" : It had been both criminals, but now, Luke tells us that only one continued.
- It was not uncommon for crucified people to spit or even urinate upon passing bystanders. Most who were crucified truly did hate society, for one reason or another.
- This criminal was of that sort. He was angry and Jesus was the nearest victim of his tirade.
- Save yourself and while you're at it, save us! Get us all down from here!
• Luke 23:40,41 : "But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.'" : This other robber had changed his mind. He heard Jesus call out for forgiveness. This man was not like other condemned men. He did not fight back or give insult for insult.
- When he heard the robber speaking, he rebuked him or spoke to him in a sharp way. Listen to what he confesses in this moment.
- Regarding Jesus, this thief confesses that He is God! Jesus had proven it to him. What he had seen was enough to convince him of that.
- Note secondly, that he confesses his own guilt. We're here and it's right. We deserve it! This is the end of what our deeds deserve. Jesus though, He's innocent!
- However long this took, likely just an hour or so, this man came to some startling revelations about Jesus that the religious had thoroughly missed having watched for 3 years!
- It's incredible to consider how far a man can slide morally in the world that we live. This is no judgment, as I could just as easily be that man!
- Here is a man who finds himself at the end of his choices. With only hours to live and he correctly identifies Jesus as the Man who is God!
- You never know what will happen to such men and women. It is always wrong to despair and always right to hold out hope that Jesus will be revealed to such a one.
• Luke 23:42 : "Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.'" : What a profound moment on so many levels. This man's faith is something else. First, he calls Jesus "Lord" when Jesus is seemingly being mastered.
- He calls him Lord when everyone else around him is calling Jesus cursed! He calls Him Lord when the crow is the most hostile and the most contrary!
- This man did not come to faith in Christ in a place of ease and encouragement! Let me say that real faith does not need it! Real faith cannot be stopped! Real faith will always break through!
- His faith continues in the fact that he believed that Jesus would soon come into a Kingdom that was His! Mind you, it's easy to believe in Christ's kingdom when He is healing and making bread!
- Jesus is not performing a single miracle. He is not teaching a great sermon. But this man is sure that Jesus is a King and that He is going to come into a Kingdom!
- The third part of his faith is audacious to say the least. He wants Jesus to remember him!
- He's a criminal and Jesus is the King of Righteousness! He is guilty and Jesus is innocent!
- What audacity! He believes that Jesus will actually accept him in His Kingdom!
• Luke 23:43 : "And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'" : Assuredly. The word is literally "Amen!" Without a doubt!
- You can bank on this fact: You will be with me in Paradise! It will happen that day!
- There is something incredibly profound about this moment in time for anyone. For the thief on the cross, that day would be the day of His entire salvation!
- He would not have to wait through a life, progressively being made like Jesus, only to die and see the long awaited promise fulfilled. It would happen for him in one single day!
- That day, that very day, the thief would be with Jesus in Paradise.
- Paradise sounds like a wonderful place and it was certainly so, but essentially, it was still Hades, the abode of the dead.
- The righteous dead were reserved there in Paradise, and is also known in Luke 16 as "Abraham's Bosom." They waited for the Messiah to come and lift them off to heaven.
- That day, Jesus would go to Paradise and this thief would now be granted a place in the place where the righteous dwelt. Only God could decree that for a person.
- Please turn over to John 19 and the next statement that we'll look at. The first statement dealt with the forgiveness of men. The second with a promise to a man.
- This third statment is to a woman, namely His own mother Mary.
• John 19:25 : "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene." : It's fairly clear that Mary had married a much older man in Joseph, who had died some years prior to the crucifixion.
- One has to understand the stigma of crucifixion to consider this. When a person was crucified, the family no longer spoke of that person because it was such a shameful death.
- The person who was to be crucified was ostracized and considered dead before they were dead! Yet here, at the cross, Mary stood with these other ladies.
- There is no stigma that is greater than a mother's love for her children!
- Mary was standing at the cross as a Mother, but also as a believer. She was looking at her Savior, the one that she spoke of in Luke 1.
- Her husband is gone and her other children, at this point, are likely still unbelievers.
• John 19:26,27 : "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home." : Mary and John the disciple stood there by the cross.
- John comforted Mary, who no doubt felt the pain and sorrow of her son's predicament.
- Jesus saw a wonderful combination of a faithful disciple who could be trusted to care for His Mother. Jesus makes a family of these two people at the cross, centered on His word.
- The Lord's compassion never ends and His final act of humanity is to show concern and honor for His Mother.
- This brings us back to our text and the final statement that we'll look at this morning, which signals a change. To this point, Jesus has acted in the interest of humanity.
- He has asked for their forgiveness, assured the thief of a place in heaven and made a family from two non-Family individuals. Now, a change is about to occur. Let's turn back to Matthew 27.
• Matthew 27:45 : "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land." : This would be noon to 3PM. In the first three hours on the cross, the public was allowed to look and speak at their liberty.
- Now, at noon, a supernatural darkness came over the land. There are always those who attempt to explain miracles with science. There is no other explanation than divine intervention!
- There are two things that occur to me when I consider this. Darkness in scripture is almost always associated with judgment.
- God allowed darkness to come over the people of Egypt, a darkness Moses writes, could be felt. In the Great Tribulation, there will be increasing darkness over the earth.
- At the same time, I am reminded of what we just studied a few nights ago in Exodus, when we studied the Tabernacle proper. The Tabernacle was covered over with goat and badger skins.
- This made it weather proof and thoroughly dark. Additionally, the veil that was made for the Most Holy Place was thick enough to keep light coming from the lampstand out.
- The Most Holy Place was a dark place where God would meet with the High Priest, who would come into that place one time a year to offer sacrifice.
- But this went on and on! It never fully dealt with the sin problem. It just covered it for a while. This is precisely why something better had to come along.
- Listen to the words of Hebrews 9:11,12: "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."
- I believe that what we are seeing here is that particular moment. Jesus our High Priest has gone into the Holy Of Holies and the transaction of blood applying to the Mercy seat is beginning.
• Matthew 27:46 : "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'" : It's three o' clock outside of Jerusalem. It's the time when Passover lambs are being slaughtered, their blood flowing down the Kidron Valley that flows outside of the city.
- In the darkness, Jesus shouted out this Hebrew phrase. The words "loud voice" are the same words used for our English word "megaphone."
- It is so peculiar that Matthew includes this in it's original language. It's in Hebrew and written phonetically in Hebrew.
- This is between Jesus and His Father. It's a privileged communique that we get to understand on this side of redemption.
- Matthew correctly identifies it as the first line of Psalm 22. I would recommend that you read that entire Psalm sometime today and see in it the details that we've been covering.
- This phrase comes from verse 1 and would serve to let the hearers know that this was a fulfillment of that moment.
- It was a common teaching method to read one part of scripture and then to leave the rest out, so as to impress upon the hearer the strength of the Word.
- It is also telling that this is the first time in scripture that Jesus refers to His Father as God! Everywhere else, there is an intimacy that is acknowledged in the term Father.
- What is happening here? The word "forsaken" gives us the clue: He is abandoned. Left alone. Turned away from.
- For the first time in all of eternity past to this very moment in time, Jesus was left alone, without fellowship with the Father.
- We cannot understand what this moment means. There is no equivalent to understand. Jesus, God incarnate, never lost contact with home, except for in this moment.
- God the Father turned away from Jesus for this period of time because Jesus had become the emblem, the representative, the substitute, for our sin.
- The Father looked away, as the Son took on all unholiness and all the wretchedness of every age in man's history.
Conclusion
- The Father looked away from Christ, who took that most severe blow, so that He would never have to look away from you that are in Him!
- Our High Priest took the full judgment and wrath of Father God upon Himself and has secured for us the same confidence that He has before the Lord.
- This is great and wonderful salvation! It allows us to be free to forgive, hopeful for the redemption of lost causes and to experience family in one another.
- All praise and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ, who has made it all possible!
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