Famous Last Words: Words At The Cross Series

FAMOUS LAST WORDS: WORDS AT THE CROSS

Today and next week, we will be looking at two final scenes regarding the cross of Jesus Christ.

Why should we spend so much time at the cross? Why should we care about the intricate details of the cross? Why would we want to lift up the cross for all the world to see?

Because the cross is where the eternal Prince of glory died for me.

The cross is the place where the debt for my eternal salvation was paid in full.

The cross is the dividing line of history and eternity.

Of all that you could ever do in your life, there is nothing greater than for you to live in the greatness and glory of the cross.

Paul said it best when he wrote, God forbid that I should boast (in anything) except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ... Galatians 6:14 NKJV

There is nothing greater that you will ever do with your life than for you to live for the glory and honor of what Jesus Christ did for you at the cross.

If I had a thousand lives and ten thousand tongues in each of those lives, I would still never be able to fully describe the glory, the power, and the eternal wonder that comes to us from the cross.

For the past several weeks we have walked with Jesus from the garden where He was betrayed, to His trial before Pilate, and finally to where we humbly stood on holy ground before the cross of Jesus Christ. In this series on the cross…

We watched as He was betrayed and lead away into the night.

We watched as He was mocked and beaten.

We watched as the solders mocked Him and placed a crown of thorns on His head.

We watched as Pilate stood before the eternal truth of the world and asked, “What is truth?”

We watched as His own people rejected Him as their Messiah and King.

We watched as He carried His cross to Calvary, the place of the skull.

We watched as the solders nailed Him to the cross and then lift Him up for the world to see.

We watched as His blood ran down the cross; not just any blood, but the Royal blood of heaven that has the eternal power to completely forgive sin and wash it away.

For six brutal hours Jesus hung from the cross. And during those six hours, we humbly listened as He would push up on the nail in His feet and speak.

Seven times He spoke. Seven times He pushed up on the nail in His feet and with a grasp of breath He would speak words filled with such majesty and power and wisdom that to this day there is nothing on earth that can match them.

And now today, by God’s grace, we again stand on holy ground before the cross, but

today will be different. Today we are going see the cross from a different perspective. Today, we will see the cross through the eyes of unbelievers. We are going to hear their scorn, their mocking, and their ridicule. We are going to hear their words, because what they said at the cross are the same things the world still says about Jesus today. We are going to hear their words, and then we are going to put an answer to the mocking questions and to the challenges that they asked at the cross.

Let’s stand together and listen to what the word of God has for us today.

Matthew 27:37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" NKJV