The Gospel in the Seven Sayings of the Cross—Pt. 2
Forgiveness and Fellowship
Scripture Ref: Luke 23:34
1. Introduction
a. Last week we started a series on how the gospel is portrayed in Jesus’ seven sayings from the cross. We saw how the gospel in its entirety was presented in those seven, seemingly simple statements.
b. Today and in the coming weeks, I want to look at each of those statements individually and dig a little deeper into each one.
c. Today we are going to examine the first statement Christ made from the cross.
d. Read Luke 23:34.
e. The obvious question at this point is, “What is the significance of forgiveness? What does it mean?”
f. We are pretty sure we know what the word means, but if I was to put you on the spot right now and ask you for its definition, could you give me a textbook definition without using the word itself?
g. According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, the definition of the word “forgive” is:
To pardon; to remit, as an offense or debt; to overlook an offense, and treat the offender as not guilty. The original and proper phrase is to forgive the offense, to send it away, to reject it, that is, not to impute it, [put it to] the offender. But by an easy transition, we also use the phrase, to forgive the person offending.
h. So we are going to examine this morning why Christ would ask His Father to overlook our offenses and treat us as not guilty.
2. In the Hour of the Greatest Pain
a. How we respond to people and events when we are in great pain says a lot about who we are. I don’t mean just physical pain; it can be mental or emotional pain as well.
(1) Do we loudly complain to the world about what great pain we are suffering and what a nasty hand life has dealt us?
(2) Do we turn inward, shutting down and shutting out the world.
(3) Or do we examine and try to figure out why we are in such pain and what we can do to stop it?
b. Pain was not a new thing for Jesus. With the exception of the last few days of his ministry he did not experience the physical abuse His disciples later would, He was certainly no stranger to mental and emotional abuse.
c. Yet in His hour of worst pain, as He hung from the cross and looked out over the sea of humanity that had inflicted this torture on Him, He did not become an introvert.
d. Jesus knew He had done nothing that warranted the suffering He was experiencing.
(1) It was not because personal sin, because He was sinless.
(2) He was, however, aware that He was bearing the sins of the world.
(3) Sometimes we must examine ourselves to see if our suffering is due to our sin.
(4) Suffering exists in this world because of sin, stemming from the original sin. We don’t always suffer because of personal sin, but because of the sins of our ancestors.
e. Jesus, standing before the blind man outside the temple, spoke of suffering for three reasons:
(1) Suffering because of personal sin.
(2) Suffering because of parents’ sin.
(3) Suffering for the glory of God (John 9:3).
(4) Read John 9:3—Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
(a) Jesus did not mean that the man had not sinned, or that his parents had not sinned.
(b) Instead, He meant that the blindness was not a direct result of sin in their lives.
(c) God had allowed this man to be born blind in order that he might become a means of displaying God’s mighty works.
(d) Before the man was ever born, Jesus knew He would give sight to those blind eyes.
3. If It Were Not for Sin There Would Have Been No Cross
a. If it were not for sin, there would have been no need for the cross.
b. You might say at this point that I seem to be focusing entirely too much on sin, but, unfortunately, it is necessary.
c. If there had been no such thing as sin, sacrifices would not have been necessary.
(1) Read Hebrews 9:22—Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
(2) Up until Christ became the ultimate sacrifice, that forgiveness was imperfect and temporary.
(3) It was imperfect because it still did not give us direct access to God; it still did not guarantee a future in His presence.
(4) The cross was God’s exacting a payment for our sins through a once and for all perfect sacrifice.
d. But here’s the thing, you must believe and accept. If you don’t believe, you lose.
e. In his book Failure, The Back Door to Success, Erwin Lutzer describes a situation that is much like what we are discussing. He writes this:
Some people try to punish themselves for their sins. They do not stand on the promises of forgiveness and Christ's propitiation. "Many years ago, a father and his daughter were walking through the grass on the Canadian prairie. In the distance, they saw a prairie fire, and they realized that it would soon engulf them. The father knew there was only one way of escape: They would quickly begin a fire right where they were and burn a large patch of grass. When the huge fire drew near, they then would stand on the section that had already burned. When the flames did approach them, the girl was terrified but her father assured her, 'The flames can't get to us. We are standing where the fire has already been.'"
f. The forgiveness that is offered is not automatic. You must believe that while on that cross, Jesus suffered the punishment of our sins. You must accept with faith, much as that little girl did, that you have to stand on the burned out patch of His shed blood to protect you from the coming judgement and sentence of this world. You can’t do it yourself.
g. Christ could have died on that cross without shedding any physical blood.
(1) He could have been tied to the cross-beam rather than nailed, had His legs broken like the other criminals, and still suffered the same brutal death, but the sacrifice would not have been the same.
(2) For His sacrifice to be effectual there had to be the shedding of blood, as with every lamb sacrificed before him.
(3) Why? As we just read in Hebrews 9:22, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
4. In the Hour of Pain, Jesus Prayed.
a. So what do you do in your hour of pain, whether it is physical, emotional, mental, or any combination of the three?
b. Do you curse and berate God? Do you ask why me and throw yourself a little pity party? Do you take it out on the person nearest to you? Or do you do like Christ did?
c. In his hour of pain, Jesus prayed.
(1) His suffering was great, but in His estimation humanity suffering an eternal hell would have been far greater.
(2) Had He not suffered the pain of the cross, we would have no hope for our future in eternity.
d. If you observe closely, and sometimes you don’t have to look that close, you will see that pain leads to communion with God.
(1) It’s part of who we are. Even for a world that proclaims the non-existence of a living, beneficent, loving God, let something go wrong and the first words that will typically escape from their lips are, “Oh my God!”
(a) So, if you want to vent and dump and do it some place where it has a chance of making a difference, talk to God.
(b) If you want to get past your pain, talk to God.
(c) If you want an active participant in the healing process, talk to God.
(d) If you want to go beyond the pain and work on the future, talk to God.
(2) And don’t stop with yourself. While you are talking, talk to Him about others and their pain and problems too. Thinking of others and praying for them will help to take your mind off our own problems and help to alleviate your own suffering.
5. He Would Not Give Up on Those Who Crucified Him as Beyond Salvation
a. Despite all the great things Jesus did while He was alive—turn water into wine, walk on water, heal the sick, restore sight and hearing, raise the dead—He failed at one thing that made His sacrifice necessary.
b. The very people he had come to save would not believe in His ministry while He was alive, even after having witnessed all those miracles. In fact, with a few exceptions, it turned the very people He had come to save against Him even moreso.
c. But Jesus willingly went to the cross enduring everything it took to get there. He believed that through the cross He could do greater things than He had through His life.
d. And here is a marvelous parallel. For while our suffering pales in comparison to His, just as Jesus’ suffering was redemptive for us, our suffering can be redemptive too.
e. Our suffering can be redemptive if we take it to God.
(1) Remember, every time Christ was faced with a great need, He prayed—He talked to His father—and His father listened.
(2) He prayed at His baptism. Read Luke 3:21 – 22—Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.".
(3) He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the evening He was betrayed.
(4) He prayed while hanging on the cross. Read Luke 23:34—And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
6. Forgiveness and Fellowship
a. Rather than condemning the generations before and after Him that were responsible for His torment, he prayed that they be forgiven because of their ignorance.
b. Acknowledging our shortcomings and accepting this amazing gift of forgiveness results in receiving the more even amazing gift of salvation.
c. I say even more amazing, because the gift of salvation not only assures us of being in God’s presence for eternity, but it also gives us immediate, unimpeded access to Him right now.
d. But there is more to having fellowship with God than just having direct access to Him and being good friends with Him.
e. In his book Your Father Loves You (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986), James Packer explains fellowship this way:
What is meant by fellowship? Gossip? Cups of tea? Tours? No. What is being referred to is something of a quite different order and on a quite different level.…
The Greek word for fellowship comes from a root meaning common or shared. So fellowship means common participation in something either by giving what you have to the other person or receiving what he or she has. Give and take is the essence of fellowship, and give and take must be the way of fellowship in the common life of the body of Christ.
Christian fellowship is two-dimensional, and it has to be vertical before it can be horizontal. We must know the reality of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ before we can know the reality of fellowship with each other in our common relationship to God (1 John 1:3). The person who is not in fellowship with the Father and the Son is no Christian at all, and so cannot share with Christians the realities of their fellowship.
f. Fellowship means that we have also been given a great deal of trust and support—trust in our ability to share our experience and share Him with non-believers, and support as we carry out that great mission.
g. Every time we come into His presence asking for His power, we are blessed by all He gives and blessed by all He has to offer.
7. Closing and Invitation
a. A childhood accident caused poet Elizabeth Barrett to lead a life of semi-invalidism before she married Robert Browning in 1846. There's more to the story. In her youth, Elizabeth had been watched over by her tyrannical father. When she and Robert were married, their wedding was held in secret because of her father's disapproval. After the wedding the Brownings sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. But even though her parents had disowned her, Elizabeth never gave up on the relationship. Almost weekly she wrote them letters. Not once did they reply. After 10 years, she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters; not one had been opened! Today those letters are among the most beautiful in classical English literature. Had her parents only read a few of them, their relationship with Elizabeth might have been restored.
b. He has written us a giant love letter. Have we taken the time to open it and read it.
c. He writes to us on a daily basis, sending us beautiful postcards with pictures of babies smiling, mountains haloed with clouds, clouds backlighted by sunrises and sunsets, flowers in glorious bloom, and waves crashing on the beach. Do you recognize them as being from Him and receive them that way?
d. He composes beautiful music for us on a daily basis. Do you hear it and recognize it as being from Him—birds singing, children laughing, that person dear to your heart saying I love you, that Christian saying I love you and God loves you too!
e. He talks to us on a daily basis. Do you hear Him? Do you hear Him, even to this day, saying “Father forgive them?”
f. Most importantly have you accepted that forgiveness? If you haven’t, will you do it today? There may not be a tomorrow.
