FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Today we are standing on holy ground.
Today we stand before the cross of Jesus Christ.
At the cross, we see the Master of heaven and earth as He hangs between two thieves.
We see the soldiers. We see the swelling crowd and we hear their mocking shouts.
We see the cross stained with the royal blood of Christ. We see the darkness of the sky and we hear the cracking of the boulders as the ground shakes.
Everything we see and hear at the cross plays a vital role in the crucifixion. Every part and every moment at the cross has a story and a message to tell.
But today, as we approach the cross, I want you to open up your heart and hear the final words of Jesus.
Every breathe was a struggle and of all that He could have said from the cross, these are the final words He chose for us to hear. And hear them we must.
I humbly apologize to you and to the host of heaven for the pathetic job I am about to do. For there is no way that I can adequately covey to you the fullness of the eternal, life changing power of Jesus words. For His words are truly life changing. His words are packed with eternal power and truth. And it is imperative that we hear His words. We cannot bypass the cross of Jesus Christ without hearing His final words.
For the next few weeks we will stand before the cross and hear His words; the final words of Jesus the Christ.
John 19:16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. 17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. NKJV
WE CANNOT BYPASS THE CROSS
No matter how we view history, there is absolutely no way we can bypass the cross.
The cross of Jesus Christ is the hinge upon which all of history turns. History and the word of God are filled with many unique and spectacular events, but there is no historical event that can match the significance of the cross of Christ.
The cross of Jesus Christ is the not only the dividing line of history but the dividing line of eternity.
There is nothing more important than for you to see the cross, to know the power of the cross and to embrace the message of the cross.
If you truly desire to fulfill the purpose of your life, then you must go to the cross.
If you are in need of peace and forgiveness, then go to the cross.
It is impossible for you to fulfill the purpose of God for your life apart from the cross.
To understand the cross and to understand the power of the words that Jesus spoke from the cross, there are three powerful thoughts that we must capture in our souls.
First, there is the cross and the message of the cross.
Paul said it well when he wrote;
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. NKJV
The message of the cross is very simple. It says that the only way to eternal life is through the death of Jesus Christ at the cross.
There is no other way and the world rejects that message.
To the world, the message of the cross is foolishness, because to the world it is foolish to believe that eternal life can only be obtained through the cross of Jesus Christ.
For the believer, the message of the cross is a message of salvation and eternal life.
For the believer, the cross is the assurance of God’s love and forgiveness.
Second, if you are to understand the cross and if you are to hear the words Jesus spoke from the cross, then you must personally go to the cross.
When Jesus first spoke of the cross, He spoke of it as a personal experience.
That means the message of the cross is more than just a significant moment in history.
The message of the cross is a personal message that speaks to every person of every generation, and that includes you. It is a personal experience.
Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. NKJV
That describes a personal calling and a personal commitment.
You have to personally choose what you will do with the cross of Jesus Christ.
The world does not understand it and rejects the meaning and power of the cross.
The world avoids the cross, while the believer embraces the cross and its message of love and salvation.
For the believer, the cross is the only way of salvation.
For the believer, the cross gives us the supernatural courage and faith to live holy and godly lives.
But you have to choose. You have to decide for yourself what you will do with the cross of Jesus.
Third, the message of the cross calls us to take up the cross but what does that mean?
To take up the cross is to believe in the message of the cross and to live your life by that message. And the message is this; that Jesus Christ the Son of God, chose to die on the cross for sinners and through Him, and only through Him is eternal salvation.
To take up the cross is to believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.
To take up the cross is to love Jesus Christ and to give Him glory for your salvation.
To take up the cross is to follow Jesus Christ no matter the cost.
I believe the single most important message that America needs to hear is the eternal message that comes from the cross.
If I were to sum all of this up, I would say that what our generation needs most is the cross, the message of the cross and words of Jesus from the cross.
With those thoughts, we are now ready to hear the words of Jesus from the cross.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Last words can be very important. Last words sometimes sum up the life that person has lived. For example;
I remember reading a story about the opera tenor, Richard Versalle. During a performance, he climbed up a ladder for a special scene and sang these words; “Too bad you can only live so long.” Immediately after singing these words, Versalle fell from his ladder and died. He didn't plan it that way but those were his final words.
Lou Costello had a strawberry ice cream soda as his last meal and said, “That was the best ice cream soda I’ve ever tasted.” Those were his last words.
In his final words, Humphrey Bogart said, “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.”
These final words describe the voices of those who filled their lives with the emptiness of this world.
Now listen to the final words of those who had the faith and courage to believe in the power of the cross for salvation.
John Polycarp who was a disciple of John was told if he would renounce Christ his life would be spared. In his final words, Polycarp said, “86 years have I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”
Those were among his final words just before he was burned at the stake for refusing to deny his love and commitment to Jesus Christ.
D. L. Moody, the great evangelist said in his final words, “I see earth receding and heaven is opening. God is calling me.”
John Wesley in his final words stated, “The best of all is, God is with us.”
Judson Van DeVenter is the author of my favorite song, “I Surrender All.” In His final hours he could be heard whispering the words, “All to Jesus, I surrender.” He was so weak that when he spoke his final words, all he could muster to say was, I Surrender.
I’m sure you can see the difference?
There is a huge difference between the final words of those who cling to this world and the final words of those who look forward to God’s promise of an eternal Kingdom.
There is a huge difference between those who despises the cross and those who love
and embrace the cross. And when look at final words, there are no final words that more important for us to hear than the final words of Jesus.
There are great men and women of history who spoke their final words, but the greatest words ever spoken in the final moments are the words of Jesus.
THE WORDS OF JESUS
Picture in your mind as Jesus hangs from the cross. See His crown of thorns. See the nails in His hands and feet. And as you see Him, see the moment when He pushes up on His feet and with every ounce of His strength, He ushers forth these final words for us who are at the cross.
Think about this; in the six hours that Jesus hung from the cross. In those six hours, He spoke only seven times and in those final words, Jesus gives us a picture of God and what it means to live our lives for the glory of eternity.
WORDS OF FORGIVENESS
The first words that we have from Jesus on the cross were words of forgiveness.
Can you imagine that? Of all that He could have said at that memorable moment, He prayed a prayer of forgiveness.
He said Luke 23:34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." NKJV
When I look at how Jesus lived His life, it does not surprise me that His first words from the cross would be the words of a prayer directed at those who hated Him and crucified Him. Jesus lived a life of prayer and in His final hours He continues to pray, not for Himself but for others.
The Greek wording here implies that He prayed these words more than once.
I think when they beat Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
When they laid Him on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
When they drove the nails into His hands and feet, He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
As He hung on the cross and heard their mocking voices, He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
He could have prayed, “Father, judge them, or Father, avenge Me.” But He didn’t.
Instead, He prayed “Father, forgive them.”
Phillip Yancey states that forgiveness is to give grace to someone who does not deserve it.
Think about this; at this critical moment, as heaven is silent and as the angels of heaven watch, they hear Jesus pray, but He does not pray for His loved ones or for His disciples, but for His enemies.
That is exactly what He taught.
Do you remember Samson? Do you remember that in his final prayer he asked God for the death of his enemies?
In great contrast, Jesus who had every right to condemn His enemies, instead chose to pray for them and to forgive them.
Listen to His words from His Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good
to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven... NKJV
I believe there is a vital reason why Jesus spoke these words first.
These words are the gateway by which we enter into the kingdom of God.
Without forgiveness there can be no salvation, which is the very reason why God sent Jesus, His only Son to the cross.
Can you imagine what the crowd must have thought when they heard Jesus speak these words? Instead of cursing them, instead of calling upon the angels of heaven to deliver Him, instead of begging for His life, He instead prays for God to forgive them.
The fact that these are Jesus first words from the cross tells us just how important forgiving others is to the heart of God.
In Matthew 6:14, we find Jesus teaching His disciples the importance of forgiveness.
Matthew 6:14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. NKJV
There is great eternal power in forgiveness.
The most powerful demonstration that you can give of your commitment to be like Jesus and follow Him, is when you forgive others as Christ has forgiven you.
That is probably the most desperate message that America needs to hear.
FOR THOSE WHOM HE PRAYED AND FORGAVE
Think about those for whom Jesus prayed and forgave.
He forgave the Jewish leaders who falsely accused Him.
He forgave the Roman soldiers who nailed Him to the cross.
He forgave the thoughtless crowd that mocked Him.
There are two powerful points here that speak to our hearts.
First, Jesus not only forgave those who were there that day at the cross.
The power of His prayer and the power of His blood surpasses time and space and still to
this day brings forgiveness and gives eternal life to all who call upon His Name and believe.
That means today, if you will come to the cross of Jesus Christ and believe in His power to forgive sin, your sins, all of your sins can be instantly and forever forgiven.
When Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them,” He was not only praying for the crowd that day, He was also praying for all people of every generation, including you and me, who look to the cross and have the courage to believe that Jesus Christ is the way of salvation.
Second, the people that Jesus prayed for that day were among the most hard-hearted people you could imagine, and yet, Jesus still prayed for God to forgive them.
There is a powerful message here that we cannot afford to miss.
Do you think God the Father heard and answered Jesus prayer? Absolutely!
There were people in that crowd who mocked His name, who later become believers and followers of Christ because God answered His prayer to forgive them.
How do I know that?
Look with me at Acts 2.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter preached to a large crowd and said;
Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (That means there were people in the crowd that day who took part in Christ’s crucifixion.) 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. NKJV
When they heard Peter’s words they were cut to the heart when they realized they had crucified their Messiah. Can you imagine being guilty of such a sin? Can you imagine being guilty of taking part in the death of Jesus their Messiah?
They were guilty of this terrible sin that was above all sins and yet Jesus said, “Father forgive them.”
And then in verse 41 we read;
Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. NKJV
Think about this; in that crowd of three thousand there were many of them who just a few days before had stood at the cross and mocked Jesus. Some of them may have heard Jesus utter the words, “Father, forgive them.”
And now, because of Jesus prayer, God was answering in a mighty way. These same men who mocked Jesus and called for His crucifixion, experienced the great forgiveness
of God and were now believers and followers of Christ.
If God can forgive them of such terrible depth of sin, then He can also forgive you.
That is the power of Jesus prayer to forgive. And that same power of forgiveness is available to you today. All you have to do is ask and believe.
Here’s my point. God answered Jesus prayer to forgive. And perhaps you are praying for someone to come to Christ. Perhaps you have witnessed to them or you have brought them to church and yet they appear to be completely uninterested in spiritual things.
Don’t give up. Keep on praying. Keep on praying and ask God to bring the message of His forgiveness into their lives.
IN CLOSING
I want to show you just how important this prayer is by comparing it to another prayer that Jesus prayed. Listen carefully;
Matthew 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." NKJV
Did you hear it? Jesus said, “If, it is possible…”
Now listen again to Jesus first words from the cross;
Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." NKJV
There is no “if” here. Jesus did not say, if it is possible, forgive this unforgiveable rabble.
No, He said with full confidence, “Father, forgive them…”
Do you see the difference? The difference is that Jesus Christ our High Priest, our Lamb of God, has made it possible by the way of the cross to be forgiven of all our sins.
The point is this; if God is unwilling and unable to forgive our sins, then what Jesus did at the cross is useless and wasted.
But glory to God, because of the cross of Christ, we are forgiven.
Because Jesus said, “Father forgive them!”
Finally, there is one final point here that we cannot over look.
What does it mean to be forgiven?
Does it mean God forgives us and we can go on and live our lives the way we used too?
Does it mean that God closes His eyes to our sin?
What does it mean to be forgiven as Jesus forgave at the cross?
Consider this; the price for your sin and my sin cost God the suffering and death of His Only Son. It took the cross and the perfect sacrifice of Jesus to purchase our forgiveness
of sin.
Because of the cross and Jesus prayer, “Father, forgive them,” God chooses to forgive
us and to wipe away our sins.
Without forgiveness there is no eternal life.
Without forgiveness it would be impossible for us to know God and His love.
Without forgiveness the gospel has no power and no message to proclaim
This is exactly why the first words Jesus spoke from the cross were words of forgiveness.
Glory to God, through Jesus Christ, we have forgiveness of sin.
So today, these two things;
First, if you are in need of forgiveness, come to the cross and hear Jesus words, Father forgive them. Today, He is speaking those words to you.
Second, if someone has wronged you, today is the day the Lord has given you to become like Jesus Christ and to forgive that person just as Jesus has forgiven you.
Come to the cross of Jesus Christ and let today be a day of great forgiveness.
