I remember learning a poem when I was a boy, which you will no doubt recognize. The
first lines were, "Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are." I have been told
that this poem is out of date, for the scientifically educated modern child can say, "Twinkle,
twinkle little star, I know precisely what you are." Then they can go on and describe how
much oxygen, hydrogen and other elements compose the star. Because of the rapid advance
in knowledge, that which was mysterious and awe-inspiring to one generation may be
understood common knowledge to the next generation.
Good Friday, however, brings us to a subject where men of all ages stand in awe, for it
brings us to the cross. Ever since that awesome event on Golgotha's hill men have looked at
the cross and thought, "Wonder of wonders that Jesus so loved me." Certainly any believer
has experienced something of the feeling of the poet who wrote,
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die,
For poor on'ry people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.
Martin Luther one day determined to understand the cry of Christ from the cross. He
sat down to meditate, and for a long time without food or drink and little movement he
concentrated on the cross. Finally, he broke his silence with a cry of amazement: "God
forsaken of God, who can understand that?" No one since has ever claimed to fully
understand, and we shall not begin to grasp it all, but if we cannot exhaust it, we can at least
examine it, and I trust go away with a deeper understanding of the meaning of the cross.
I. THE TEMPORARY TRAGEDY AROUND THE CROSS. v. 39-44
I use the word temporary because even the hate and evil of those who crucified Jesus
was forgiven, and they too were free to accept the pardon, which He purchased on that cross.
We first see those who passed by. The cross was on a hill near a main road going into
Jerusalem, and so many going to and from could see the cross. Many were passing by on the
way to the city, possibly even to worship in the temple. They would see Him who said,
"Destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up." Seeing Him they cried out, "Where is
your boasting now? Come on and let us see some of that power of yours. Come down and
show us." There was not a sign of sympathy as they went on their way totally unconcerned
about His suffering. It would have made no difference if they had seen Him in a ditch having
been beaten by robbers. They did not care, for how could His suffering affect them. There
was not a Good Samaritan among them.
People have not changed, for they are still self-centered, and only things that interest
them and profit them are of any concern. They do not see the sufferings of others. We have
to ask ourselves if we were on that road to Jerusalem, would we have been concerned? Are
we so wrapped up in our own problems that we do not see the burdens others are bearing?
John Wesley had to learn the hard way. He rebuked a man in anger for his small
contribution to a worthy cause. He knew the man had a good income and it angered him that
he gave so little. The man looked him in the eye and said, "I know a man who buys in the
market once a week and boils parsnips in water and lives on that all week." "Who is that?"
asked Wesley. "I am that man." Wesley responded, "I don't understand." The man
explained, "I made many debts before I became a child of God, and now my goal is to repay
them." Wesley thought only of his perspective, and he did not see from that man's
perspective. So it was for those who passed by the cross.
This tragic self-centeredness is seen even more clearly in their cry for Him to come
down and then they would believe. This is the height of self-centered pride. Man is dictating
the terms by which he will believe. Man is demanding that God conform to his will or he will
not believe. People still do this, and they say if God will do such and such, then they will
believe. Leslie Weatherhead tried this and when it failed he woke up to realize he was
reducing God to a magic rabbit's foot. He realized that God is not a cosmic slave who runs
our errands. We can thank God He did not answer that foolish prayer and come down from
the cross, for had He done so we would have had to take His place.
Tragic is their blind self-centered request, but more tragic would it have been to have had
that request granted. They cried, "Save yourself," or in other words, "Be like us and put self first
and second, and everyone else last." What they said amounted to, "Stop saving us and we will believe."
Thank God that Jesus knew if He would save others, He could not save Himself. By dying on
the cross Jesus made the tragedy around the cross only temporary.
II. THE TERRIBLE TRIUMPH ON THE CROSS. v. 45-46
The cross was a victory, but it was not an easy battle. We cannot begin to grasp the
meaning of these verses, but they are so significant that we must try. Jesus had hung on the
cross from 9 until noon, and then came three hours of darkness and silence. The clamoring
of people stopped. There was no more shouting and reviling. Men suddenly feel that things
have been taken out of their hands, and something is going on that is deeper than they can
know.
What was the darkness? Some say it was an eclipse, or poetically the sympathy of
nature, or God's expression of sorrow. None of these are likely as an explanation. G.
Campbell Morgan feels these 3 hours are the most significant of the whole of account of the
crucifixion. In that period all the forces of Satan, the prince of darkness, were gathered
together to quench the Light of Life, and Jesus had to face him alone. He was forsaken by
family, friends, followers, and now when He most desperately needed Him, He was forsaken
even by His Father. This was that which caused Jesus to sweat drops of blood in
Gethsemane. This was the cup He so dreaded to drink. He became sin for us, and was
forsaken by God to be left in the hands of Satan. No one ever knew such darkness. Daniel
went into the lion's den, but God was there. Shadrack, Meshack, and Abed-nego went into
the fiery furnace, but God was there. Jesus went into the den of Satan and the fires of hell,
but no one was there, and He was all alone.
The Apostle's Creed says that Jesus descended into hell during the 3 days in the grave,
but it seems that if Jesus ever went to hell it was in these 3 hours of darkness, for what is hell
but separation from God. Here is the only time where Jesus was forsaken by the Father. If
Satan could have held Him, the light of the world would have gone out forever. It is easy to
see the terror side of these words, but where is the triumphant side? This is seen in the fact
that Jesus has conquered the darkness and the light continues to shine. The words are past
tense, and they are spoken, not in the hour of terror, but after that hour. Both the Greek
here and the Septuigent of Psa. 22:1 are past tense. Matthew says it was about the 9th hour,
and so it was at the end of darkness that Jesus said, "My God, my God why did you forsake
me?"
There were no words during the 3 hours of darkness, but now at the end the Father
returns and Jesus cries out to Him, "Why did you leave me?" It is as if I left my son in a
dark room and for several hours of terror he sits in fear. Finally, I open the door and he
cries out, "Daddy, daddy why did you leave me here?" He does not cry out until I return.
We see Jesus coming through this ordeal, and He is reconciled with the Father. God and
man were reconciled on the cross, and Jesus had to be reconciled with His Father to make
this possible for all men. Jesus had successfully atoned for the sin of the world. The price of
man's redemption has been paid, and now it is possible for all to come to the Father, for
Jesus is now the way.
We could never have known the price He paid had He not uttered these words. So great
is the price that some cannot believe it, and they say Jesus is only quoting Psa. 22 in delirium.
No one can understand such a sacrifice, for no one has ever gone to hell and back. No one
ever could but Jesus, for He was the only perfect sacrifice that could take our sin and still
return from that realm of separation from God. One thing we can understand is why God,
after seeing His Son pay such a price, is a consuming fire to all who trample under foot the
blood of the cross. You cannot take the cross too seriously.
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night
That the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
