Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

As we listen to the Lord Jesus Christ speak from Calvary; the words we hear convince us that He loves us.

This love is revealed in a very special way in His fifth statement: *John 19:28-30**.*

Our Lord was crucified at 9:00 in the morning and spent the first three hours on the cross in broad daylight.

Then the darkness came, and at the end of that darkness, he cried, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?”    

His first 3 statements centered on others:

·                     His enemies – /“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”/

·                     The Thief – /“Today, you shall be with Me in paradise”/

·                     John and Mary – /“Woman, behold your son…”  “Behold your mother” /

 

The central statement focused on the Father:

·                     /“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”/

But in His last 3 statements, our Lord focused on Himself:

·                     /“I thirst”/

·                     /“It is finished”/

·                     /“Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit”/

 

Body, Soul and Spirit were all offered by the Lord Jesus Christ in total submission to His Fathers will.

And, isn’t that what the apostle Paul says we are to do?

After understanding all that God has done for us, which Paul takes 11 chapters to explain, in chapter 12 in the book of Romans, Paul says:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a *living* sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  (Romans 12:1-2, NKJV)

 

The shortest statement made from the cross is the one found in (John 19:29): /“I thirst.”/

This is the only statement that the Lord made from the cross that referred to His own physical needs.

This statement is going to help us see some amazing portraits of Jesus Christ: /The Suffering of Christ…  The Obedience of Christ…  The Love of Christ./

!! A.                 The Suffering of Christ.

!!! 1.                  Jesus Christ was truly a man.

!!!! a)                  The Humanity of Christ.

!!!!! (1)                 He had a body just like ours as proven by the fact that…

!!!!! (2)                 He got tired in John 4:6.

!!!!! (3)                 He slept Matthew 8:24

!!!!! (4)                 He got thirsty in John 19:28.

!!!!! (5)                 He got hungry in Matthew 4:2.

!!!!! (6)                 He got physically weak Luke 23:26.

!!!!! (7)                 He died in Mark 15:37.

!!!!! (8)                 He had blood Matthew 28:28, Hebrews 9:14, 10:19

!!!!! (9)                 He had a soul Matthew 26:38

!!!!! (10)             He had a will John 5:30

!!!!! (11)             He had a spirit John 11:33

!!!!! (12)             In His resurrected body he has flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), He ate (John 20:17) and ascended to heaven in His body (Acts 1:9).

Before and after His resurrection, His body was still a physical body.

!!!! b)                  People near Him saw Him only as a Man *(Matthew 13:53-58)*.

!!!!! (1)                 Liberal theologian have denied our Lords deity, but in the early church there were those who questioned His humanity.

This is one reason why John wrote his first epistle:

*Johns says in chapter one of his first epistle *"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."

(1 John 1:1-3, NKJV)

*Then he goes on to say in chapter 4 *"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.

And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."

(1 John 4:1-3, NKJV)

*But Peter gave the right answer when Jesus asked Him,* "Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  (Matthew 16:15-16, NKJV)

 

!!! 2.                  Jesus Christ can truly understand our weaknesses *(**Hebrews 4:15-16**)*.

!!!! a)                  Come boldly to the throne of grace.

!!!!! (1)                 There are people who think of God as being far removed from human life and concerns.

Jesus was the very Son of God, yet His divinity did not prevent Him from experiencing our feelings, our emotions, our temptations, our pain.

!!!!! (2)                 In *(John 11)*, when Jesus came to Bethany and saw all the people weeping over the death of Lazarus, *(v.35)* says that Jesus wept:

!!!!!! (a)                 What sort of human being would Jesus be if he could ignore the pain of Mary and Martha, and block out his own personal heartache over the death of his friend Lazarus?

And for once the Jews do not attack Jesus or attempt to discredit him.

They see him through their own tears and empathize with this wonderful person by exclaiming, *“**See how he loved him!”*

(i)                 You are the *“apple of His eye”… *very valuable to God (Psalm 17:8).

(ii)                 *Romans 12:15* weep with those who weep

(iii)                *1 Corinthians 12:26** *if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it

!!!!! (3)                 God became man, He became Jesus, to share triumphantly the temptation and the testing and the suffering of men, in order that He might be a sympathetic and understanding High Priest.

!!!!!! (a)                 */Weaknesses/* do not refer directly to sin, but to feebleness or infirmity.

It refers to all the natural limitations of humanity.

!!!!!! (b)                Jesus knew firsthand the drive of human nature toward sin.

/His humanity was His battleground.

/It is here that Jesus faced and fought sin.

He was victorious, but not without the most intense temptation, grief, and anguish.

!!!!! (4)                 Because of this, we can come boldly to the throne of grace, knowing that He understands us and can help us.

!!!!!! (a)                 He knows our burdens we carry and the pain that we endure and in that very time of need, He can give us the grace to keep on going.

!!!!! (5)                 Wherever you go, you find hurting people.

Many experience physical pain while others are suffering from emotional pain that may not be as evident to us.

!!!!!! (a)                 …and just as Jesus suffered physically and emotionally and can now sympathize with our weaknesses…

!!!!!! (b)                …in the same way, God will allow us to physically and emotionally go through tribulation, that we to, may be able to sympathize with others *(2Cor.1:3-7).*

!! B.                The Obedience of Christ.

!!! 1.                  “That the Scripture might be fulfilled…”  (v.28b).

!!!! a)                  The need to obey the Word of God (Psalm 69:21).

!!!!! (1)                 Our Lords concern was noT His own physical need so much as the need to obey the Word of God.

In everything He said and did, Jesus obeyed the Word of God:

*Speaking about His obedience, Jesus said *"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."

(John 4:34, NKJV)

*He always wanted His Fathers will to be done; He said *"I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  (John 5:30, NKJV)

*In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus *"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."

(Matthew 26:38-39)

*Jesus said that *"I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

!!!!! (2)                 The Lord saved us, not to do our own will, but the will of God and our obedience to the Word of God will show to others the extent of our love for God:

*Jesus said that *"The world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do."

(John 14:31, NKJV)

!!!!! (3)                 And not only did He /“do”/ God’s will BUT He /“finished”/ the work that He was sent to do:

*In John 17 in His prayer to the Father He said *"I have /glorified/ You on the earth.

I have /finished /the work which You have given Me to do."  (John 17:4)

!!!!! (4)                 More that twenty times in the four Gospels you find the phrases like /“that it might be fulfilled”/ or /“then was fulfilled”/ because Jesus is the Obedient Servant of God. 

 

!!!! b)                  The importance of obedience in our life.

!!!!! (1)                 Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem rather than in Jerusalem?

Because the prophet Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

!!!!! (2)                 Why did Joseph and Mary take Jesus and go down to Egypt?

Because the prophet Hosea said it would happen.

!!!!! (3)                 Why did Jesus minister in Galilee?

In obedience to (Isaiah 9:1-2).

All of His life Jesus obeyed the Word of God; in fact, let’s turn to *Philippians 2:8**:*

!!!!! (4)                 Do you obey the Word of God, even to the point of Death (Luke 9:23-26)?