The historical event that we remember and celebrate on Easter morning is the resurrection of Jesus Christ; in which He rose from the grave, defeating sin and death for all who put their faith and trust in Him. However, this morning, we’re not going to look at the resurrection; were’ going to look at what preceded it, which is the crucifixion, and what Jesus said while hanging on the cross.
In the cross of Jesus Christ, we find victory over adversity. We’re going to discover seven words of wisdom based on Jesus’ seven words spoken on the cross; words that help us deal with any and every struggle that we face today. This morning’s message, which is inspired by a teaching I heard nearly twenty years ago, is based on what’s called “the seven last words of Christ.”
What we know as Good Friday was not a good day for Jesus; it was a bad one. It was a day of betrayal, beatings, rejection, pain, and loneliness. It was a day of adversity to the max. We will likely never experience what Jesus went through; yet each of us will experience trouble and adversity at some point in life, especially those who are called to follow after Christ. You see, we’re called to take up our cross, meaning that we too will suffer.
On the cross Jesus left us an example to follow; one that will help us deal with adversity; and He left us this example, because He realized that we too would suffer; that we too would experience difficult days. So, let’s now examine Jesus’ seven statements that will help us in overcoming our struggles.
Point # 1: Forgive Everyone Who’s Trying to Harm You (Luke 23:34)
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.
The first point in dealing with adversity is to forgive everyone who’s trying to harm you.
Often, times of adversity are the result of what people do. People, through free will, are given a choice in life to make their own decisions as to whether or not they will follow God and His commandments or go against Him. People are going to commit sin, and many times they will hurt others along the way; and oftentimes, we just happen to be in their path. But, Jesus points us to a starting place in dealing with the hurt that people inflict on our lives, and that starting place is in realizing that people don’t always know what they’re doing.
Now, that’s probably not the way that many of us feel about hurtful situations. We tend to see things from the viewpoint of our experience, and when bad things happen, it appears that whoever did us wrong knew exactly what he or she was doing; and it must have looked that way from the cross as well. When Stephen was being stoned because of his powerful and convicting testimony, he realized that the people in the angry crowd didn’t really know what they were doing; and so, that’s why he prayed, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60).
We need to learn how to forgive, because forgiving those who hurt us is the key to not feeling victimized, and the key to maintaining our peace. “A friend of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, once reminded her of an especially cruel thing that had been done to her years before. Miss Barton seemed not to recall it. ‘Don’t you remember it?’ her friend asked. ‘No,’ came the reply, ‘I distinctly remember forgetting it’.”(1) You see, only when we can learn to forgive will we find peace of mind in the midst life’s difficulties.
True forgiveness springs from gratitude to God, because He forgave us. This truth is found in Ephesians 4:32, which says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” In Matthew 7:12, Jesus told us, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.” We all want to be forgiven, and we all want to experience the emotional and spiritual release that results from having the burden of our past wrongs lifted from us. If we want others to forgive us, then we must be willing to forgive them as well.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” It’s important for us to forgive others when they harm us or do us wrong, because in doing so we maintain a right relationship with the Heavenly Father. When we’re confident that we’re doing the will of the Father, and when we feel that God is on our side, then with this assurance we will be able to make it through difficult times.
Point # 2: Help Others Who Are Experiencing Your Same Struggle (Luke 23:43)
Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.
The second point in dealing with adversity is to help others who are going through your same struggle.
The account portrays that there were two thieves beside Jesus; one of the thieves mocked Him while the other believed that He is the Son of God. We should take note of Jesus’ interaction with the repentant thief. First, the man was experiencing exactly the same thing that Jesus was. Jesus could have been focused on His own problems, but He demonstrated a sensitivity that remained available to the needs of the other people around Him, even while dealing with His own pain.
It’s easy for us to be blinded to the needs of the other people around us when all we can see are our own problems, but Jesus revealed that we need to look past our own adversity. When we start caring for other people and meeting their needs, we often realize that we’re in a whole lot better shape than many of them; and we also tend not to focus so much on our set of own problems, as we’re concerned more with what we can do to help someone else. Helping others can be therapy to our soul.
Many times, the Lord will lead us to other people who are experiencing similar trials as we are, for the specific purpose of comforting them. Listen closely, as I read from 2 Corinthians 1:3-7:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
So, let’s learn how to comfort others, and then we too will be comforted, as our love and concern for others begins to overshadow our own problems.
Point # 3: Be Sure You’ve Taken Care of Those Nearest You (John 19:26-27)
“Woman, behold your son!” . . . Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”
The third point in dealing with adversity is to be sure you’ve taken care of those nearest to you.
In this verse, we see that Jesus turned His concern to His mother’s own personal plight. When he said, “Woman, behold your son!” He wasn’t saying, “Look at Me and weep, Mother.” He was directing her attention to John. He was saying, “Woman – which was a term of respect, equivalent to ma’am – this man will become the one who oversees you and takes care of you.” And then completing the transfer of responsibility for His mother, He said to John, “Son, behold your mother.”
There can be any number of reasons why our times of difficulty affect our family members such as our mother, father, siblings, or even our own children. In following Jesus, for example, we might be asked to leave our father and mother to go to a foreign mission field. If one of our parents is unable to take care of themselves, we might feel guilty for leaving them behind; and this guilt looms over us like a dark shadow, distracting us from serving the Lord wholeheartedly. However, once we resolve the issue of how our parents can be taken care of, and resolve the emotional conflict, the burden will be lifted and God can use us.
Whatever family issue we might be facing; whatever trouble is happening on the home-front; it can rob us of peace and distract us from serving others; that is, until we settle the matter.
Point # 4: Aim Your Hard Questions at God, Not Man (Matthew 27:46)
My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?
The fourth point in dealing with adversity is to aim your hard questions at God and not man.
The reason why we need to do this is because in life’s darkest hours, there are usually no human beings with adequate answers. Many times, when bad things happen, our mind is so clouded that it’s tempting to blame God. Allow me to share an illustration that I’ve used before:
I once watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie, which was called “The Craftsman.” Little Albert was speaking to an old Jewish coffin maker about the question of good and evil. Albert said, “I’ve been kind of mad at . . . [God] lately.” The Jewish man replied, “Mad at God, why?” Albert answered, “Well, because He lets bad things happen.”
The old coffin maker replied, “Albert, don’t blame the Almighty for all the evil men do. God gives us the freedom to choose between good and evil. Is it His fault that some people choose to follow the evil?” Little Albert said, “Reckon I never thought of it that way before. Some things are so hard to understand.”(2)
As we learned earlier, it’s not God’s fault that bad things happen to us, but if we turn to people for the answers they’re likely to put the blame on God. It’s like Albert said, “Some things are so hard to understand” – they’re too hard for human beings to comprehend. If we’re listening to other people while we’re standing in the middle of a confusing situation, then we’ll only become ten times more confused than when we first entered that dark valley.
We should never be afraid to come to God with any question; no matter how hard, ridiculous, or difficult we might think it sounds. God is big enough to handle anything we can ask of Him. In Jeremiah 12:1, the prophet said to the Lord, “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?” The prophet Jeremiah provides us an example of how we can come to the Lord in prayer with any question, for he came to God in frustration about how the just were suffering while the wicked prospered.
Point # 5: Be Human Enough to Acknowledge Your Need (John 19:28)
I thirst!
The fifth point in dealing with adversity is to be humble enough to acknowledge your need.
The reason why Jesus asked for something to drink had something to do with what He was about to say. The biblical setting made that unmistakably clear. As the Word incarnate was about to bring His final sermon – a message for all time, to first be proclaimed from the elevated pulpit of His cross – He needed to clear His voice. The announcement to follow was not to be muttered or choked out, but trumpeted so that all mankind throughout all history would be able to hear it. But to prepare for that moment He needed help.
We actually find a spiritual application, or spiritual lesson, here in how Jesus asked for help in clearing His voice. Times of difficulty can clog and blur your perspective, and muddy your speech, like Jesus’ throat was cluttered. It can fog the mind and bring uncertainty to your heart, or tempt you to think and say the wrong things, unless you are willing to let your need be made known to others.
In times of adversity, humbling yourself to ask for assistance can help clarify the stance you’re taking in trusting God; trusting that He cares enough for you to work through a friend, or a neighbor, and especially through fellow believers. And let me remind you, that this is no prompting to seek the shallow refuge of someone to coddle you, as you voice your complaints; or as you seek the advice of people, which we already established is fallible. But just as Jesus needed assistance in getting that sour wine to clear His voice for the confession of faith that He was about to bring, you and I need the help we can bring to each other.
Point # 6: Be Assured, There Is a Purpose and an End (John 19:30)
It is finished!
The sixth point in dealing with adversity is to be assured that there is a purpose and an end.
Jesus’ cry of “It is finished!” was not a cry of defeat. Jesus was in control of the situation, for He willingly submitted Himself to be tortured and crucified. He did so because there was a purpose, and that purpose was to redeem all mankind through His shed blood, the blood that serves as the atoning sacrifice to cover our sins. When He cried aloud, “It is finished,” Jesus wasn’t giving up hope and declaring that His life was over; He was confidently proclaiming the completion and victory of the long race that He had run. His cry, ‘It is finished!’ is our call to hold firm in this assurance: that His sovereign power will ultimately win the day.
When we’re in the middle of a difficult situation and Satan is trying to knock us down, we can look at the devil and say, “I’ve read the end of the Book. Believers are victorious and you lose!” You see, because we will win in the end through Jesus Christ; this is the reason we can rejoice! Satan is already defeated. Hebrews tells us about the purpose of the cross “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Sin and death are defeated; and since all the adversities of this life arise from sin and death, then our troubles are already over before they even begin! There is an end in sight, and one day we will stand with Christ and shout alongside Him, “It is finished!”
Point # 7: Finally Surrender Your Adversity to God, and Let It Go (Luke 23:46)
Into Your hands I commit My spirit.
The seventh and final point in dealing with adversity is to finally surrender your trouble to God, and let it go.
On the lips of Jesus, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit” is no more an act of wearied resignation than “It is finished!” was a cry of defeat. Both are assertions; statements of definitive action. The sixth word was one of triumph; the seventh one of trust. From a human perspective His words indicate an enormous act of trust. He was surrendering His own control of life into the hands of the heavenly Father. Jesus basically said, “I’m ready to release My hold on life, and I’m unafraid to do so because I am placing everything about Myself into Your hands.”
There’s a well-worn story about a man who was walking along a narrow path, not paying much attention to where he was going, and he slipped and fell over a cliff. As he plummeted, he grabbed ahold of a branch growing from the side of the rock face. Realizing that he couldn’t hang on for long, he called out for help. He yelled, “Is there anybody up there?” When a voice finally answered, the man said, “Who’s that?” The voice replied, “It’s God, do you trust me?” The man said, “I trust you completely, Lord.” God replied, “Good. Then let go of the branch.” After a long pause the man cried out, “Is there anybody else up there?”(3)
You see, when we’re stuck in the middle of adversity, hanging on for dear life to that thing that brings us security, God won’t help us until we let go. As long as we’re clinging to that figurative branch, we are either trusting in our own limited strength, or we’re calling out for help from someone or something other than God. Now, let me tell you, the Lord won’t forcibly take control of our lives. We have to willingly give Him the control before He can and will help us.
Time of Reflection
So, we’ve just learned seven words of wisdom based on Jesus’ seven words spoken while on the cross; words that help us when we’re experiencing adversity; words that help with any and every struggle that we face today. Now, let me tell you the truth about the victory we find in these words. The only way you can have this kind of victory is to place your hope and trust in the cross, and to know the One who died on that cross. His name is Jesus, and He will forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life, if you will confess Him as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
Numerous quotes and insights are from Jack Hayford’s book “How to Live through a Bad Day,” Thomas Nelson, 2001.
(1) Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), p. 153.
(2) Michael Landon, “The Craftsman,” Little House on the Prairie. 1974 National Broadcasting Company.
(3) Green, p. 138.
