Demonstrating His Love

Good Friday

Everything Jesus did, in the last hours of His life on earth, was to demonstrate His love to us.

SLIDE: series graphic

For a little bit tonight, we’re going to look at the last few hours of His life, and see how His love was actually demonstrated.

After the unfair trials before Annas and Caiaphas the high priests, and after being sentenced to crucifixion by Pilate, which our voice actors and narrator brilliantly illustrated, Jesus was now carrying His cross.

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SLIDE: 6 to 8 AM—Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His Cross

Mark 15:21 (NIV) A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”)

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus bore our sins on the cross but was not able to bear his cross to Golgotha. Why not? Because he was tortured, flogged, and abused horribly since the previous night.

Yet the Father provided a stranger to be drafted from the crowd, to carry the cross for Jesus. Simon of Cyrene was there with his two sons. God does everything for a reason.

Mark’s gospel account includes the children’s names which some scholars believe is significant because Simon and his two sons may have become believers through this incident and leaders in the future church. And Paul mentions a Rufus in Romans 16, so it’s possible this boy is now a young man that Paul affirms as a part of the church.

Simon carried the cross of Jesus. We don’t know this, the text doesn’t say, but I would imagine there was some kind of eye contact between Jesus and Simon, something that changed Simon’s life forever. But whatever happened, most scholars think it was significant enough to bring Simon and his two boys to salvation.

SLIDE: 9 AM—Jesus Is Crucified

Mark 15:25-26 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Picture this: a king stripped and crucified in public has obviously lost his kingdom. Yet Jesus was never found guilty. Back then when someone was crucified they put the crime in which he committed on a sign above his head, sort of as a warning to all. The only crime they could kind of come up with was: King of the Jews.

How ironic. Because one the one hand, a person would think: He is definitely NOT a king. And on the other hand, through His death He was actually saving the people of His kingdom. He was becoming sin, so He could save people from sin.

Everything Jesus did, in the last hours of His life on earth, was to demonstrate His love to us.

SLIDE: 9 AM to 12 PM—Casting Lots, the Mocking Crowd, and Jesus’ Words

You could imagine at this point that every last breath for Jesus was immensely difficult, so He chose His words wisely, sparingly, and thoughtfully. What He did say would be very important. And what He said next must have stunned people.

Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Roman soldiers would often gamble for the criminals clothes, this fulfilled yet another prophecy in Psalm 22:18.

But again look at how Jesus demonstrated His love for people as He died. He lived and died by the words He preached, remember when Jesus taught His followers to “Love your enemies?” Here He is, loving His enemies.

Look at what His enemies were doing and saying about Him…

SLIDE: Luke 23:35 (NIV) The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

The Jewish leaders and the people followed Jesus to the execution site and reasoned that if He was who He said He was, He should be able to get himself out of this predicament. So because He didn’t, He certainly must not be the Son of God.

Which is a warning to us: we can’t always reason things out in our mind, and if it makes sense to us then it’s true. It’s true whether it makes sense to us or not. Sometimes God has plans that are bigger than our reasoning abilities.

Well, you’ve heard of the famous dialog between the two criminals on the cross, one on each side of Jesus. One that hurled insults, just like the crowd. And the other who rebuked the insult hurling criminal and asked Jesus to remember Him.

He’s like, “were getting what we deserve, but this man has done nothing!”

Which by the way, is the beginning of salvation. The starting point is realizing your need, that you really are a sinner, in need of salvation. And in that sin, Jesus still loves you. Knowing this, Jesus finds the energy to respond to him.

SLIDE: Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Everything Jesus did, in the last hours of His life on earth, was to demonstrate His love to us.

John’s account mentions that at this point Jesus asked His disciple John to take care of His mother for him, and it says that John did that. Because…

Everything Jesus did, in the last hours of His life on earth, was to demonstrate His love to us. And now for his mother.

So there’s a lot happening between 9-12:00, as Jesus hung on the cross, slowly dying.

SLIDE: 12 to 3 PM—The Earth Goes Dark

So Jesus was crucified at 9:00. 3 hours pass. It’s noon, the brightest time of the day, and there’s an eerie darkness that falls upon the land.

Luke 23:44-45 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

The sun stopped shining. It’s like you get the feeling that all of nature, the entire universe, was mourning, grieving. The darkness must’ve been physical and spiritual. God the Son, who was never created, and the one who did the Creating…confined himself to a human body, absorbed the sins of the world, and was about to die.

**The one who created the world is now voluntarily dying by those He created. And it’s like the earth is grieving over it. So darkness falls, in the middle of the day.

SLIDE: 3 PM—Jesus Dies

Mark 15:34 (NIV) And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)

Jesus was filled with so much sin, He was separated from His Father, whom He had always been with throughout eternity.

SLIDE: John 19:28 (NIV) Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

Thirst was a sign of his humanity. God in human flesh. And another prophecy fulfilled.

John 19:30 (NIV) When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

“It is finished” means “it is accomplished…or it is paid in full.”

The death of Jesus accomplished our redemption. Jesus paid for our sins, in full with His death.

No one killed Jesus. His life was not taken from him. He gave it. Out of his own free will.

SLIDE: 3 to 6 PM—Jesus’ side, Joseph claims His body, placed in a sealed Tomb

John 19:33-37; Luke 23:50-55; Mark 15:47

More prophecies are fulfilled as a soldier did NOT need to break his legs to make sure Jesus was dead. A spear was thrust in Jesus’ side and blood and water flowed, which meant he was definitely dead. Authors of Gospels go to great lengths to show that He was dead.

Joseph of Arimathea fulfilled a prophecy by burying Jesus in a cave, which is where a king would be buried. The burial had to be done before Sabbath. Jesus died just a few hours before Sabbath, so it was a rush to give Jesus a proper burial. And a large stone was rolled across the entrance, and it was made secure with a seal, and a guard was posted, just to be sure nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Everything Jesus did, in the last hours of His life on earth, was to demonstrate His love to us.

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See the ultimate demonstration of His love was for a purpose. It was more of a RESCUE MISSION. Rescuing the people He loves by dying for them.

· Do you see yourself as someone who needs to be rescued?

· Do you see yourself as being so loved by Jesus that He would die for you?

That’s the point of Good Friday. I am loved by God so much that through the death of Jesus, He rescued me from my death.

Most people at some point feel like God has given up on them because:

· Life got hard

· Something bad happened

· Things didn’t go as we expected.

All Jesus has done OVER AND OVER was to show how much He loves us.

And He proved it by doing EVERYTHING possible to rescue us: so we don’t have to die in your sins.

But God says: you’ve got to choose me. I’m not going to turn you into a robot and force you to choose me. Love means freedom to choose.

We’re going to end with a SONG… “Don’t you give up on me”

So if you’re ready to give up on yourself, your life…or God…please listen to this song carefully, as if God is speaking to you, from His perspective.

It’s written from God’s perspective, as if God is singing to us.

If you choose me:

· I have so MUCH MORE LOVE for you, so don’t you give up on me…I didn’t give up on you!!

· I have a new life for you so don’t you give up on me. I didn’t give up on you!!

CLOSING SONG