The Suffering of “Grace”
Notes
Transcript
Handout
"I thirst" (John 19:28)
In lieu of Easter, we are studying the sayings of Christ on the Cross of Calvary as He became sin for us. I have entitled this series of messages, “The Conversation of Grace”
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Grace is a gift that we do not Deserve.
However, Grace is a gift that we must Receive by Faith.
In the sayings of the cross, we follow the progression of grace given to us through the words of Christ on the Cross while He is purchasing the Gift of Salvation and Eternal life for each and every one of us.
Grace begins with Forgiveness -
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
As their anger and hatred for Jesus Christ is being poured out, physically and mentally, against Jesus Christ, the Creator and God of all, Jesus utters the first statement of Grace.
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34)
Jesus was not asking for their sins to be released from their debt, because that is impossible for a Holy God not to recognize or judge sin. But rather, Jesus is asking His Father to allow the progression of this sacrifice.
See, God gives man a free will. He gives us the ability to make choices even when these choices result in sin. If it wasn’t for the mercy of God that leads to the forgiveness of God, we could not experience grace for we would all be dead.
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
None of us has lived up to the image that man was created, the image of God.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Secondly, Eternal life, salvation, a new birth, happens when we believe on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
This is exactly what we see in the 2nd phrase spoken by Jesus Christ.
We see one of the 2 thieves recognizing his own sinfulness and the innocence of Jesus Christ.
He believes in His heart that Jesus Christ is sinless and is truly God.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
and upon his belief and confession, Jesus speaks His 2nd statement.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
This thief was saved because of the grace of Jesus Christ and was received by Faith.
After experiencing the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and receiving salvation, he now had a front row seat to the Love of Jesus Christ portrayed in the 3rd statement of Jesus Christ.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Because of His mercy, forgiveness, and love, last week we learned that shortly after this 3rd statement, Darkness fell upon the world. We discovered that this type of darkness was just a little darker from an eclipse or such event but rather was a darkness that could be felt, just as the darkness that was over Egypt when the death angel passed over the land of Egypt on that first passover.
However, remember the promise of that great event.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
After 3 hours of darkness, in the quiet and fear of judgment, Jesus cries out his 4th phrase.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
With the cry of this statement of Grace, the Atonement for our sins was about to be presented to the Father.
However, at this very moment Jesus became sin for us. He didn’t commit sin but rather became sin and because of that the Father separated from the Son.
Jesus did not stop being God or even stop being a part of the Trinity, but during this dark time the fellowship they had experienced forever had been broken because of your sin and my sin.
This shows the seriousness of sin.
“ATONEMENT” — the act by which God restores a relationship of harmony and unity between Himself and human beings.
Before our relationship with the Father could be restored, the relationship with the son must be broken.
I do not understand all of this and neither do you. However, we accept it by faith.
Jesus was fully God and Jesus was fully man.
Jesus was Holy, but became Sin.
So,
The Cross of Calvary became an act of Judgment where God judged SIN, and that Sin was on Jesus Christ.
The next 3 phrases are all a part of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in this conversation of Grace.
"I thirst" (John 19:28)
"It is finished" (John 19:30)
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46)
We now come to the 5th phrase spoken by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
It is at this point that Jesus says, “I thirst,” reflecting his physical suffering and his identification with the suffering of humanity.
Thirst was part of the torture of crucifixion. And this was the fourth time the silence of Calvary was broken by the Savior.
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Shows the Herald of His Humanity.
Shows the Herald of His Humanity.
D.M. Panton states that “This word” “I thirst”
“strikes a deathblow at the denial of the real humanity of Christ. Angels do not thirst; it the the MAN Christ Jesus who thirsts.”
Jesus opened His ministry with hunger in
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus shows us His humanity in the facts that he was hungry, he needed rest, he needed sleep, and being pictured here is the fact that he suffered.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Shows the Humiliation of His Humanity.
Shows the Humiliation of His Humanity.
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Can you imagine the Creator of water being thirsty?
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
But, not only was there humiliation in the fact that the creator of water needed water, but there was also the humiliation from the depiction of thirst in His ministry.
We first of all have the spiritual thirst needed of mankind taught to the woman at the well.
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Later, we find Jesus teaching about a rich man that did not accept Jesus Christ by faith and was being tormented in Hell and makes a request.
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But, even more importantly,
“I Thirst”
Shows the Hope of His Humanity.
Shows the Hope of His Humanity.
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Jesus Christ was on a divine schedule with an omniscient eye moving one step at a time and fulfilling every detail of prophecy.
He knew exactly where He was; and He was saying to Himself, Well, I know that all things are now accomplished, except for one Scripture, Then He says at the end of verse 28, “… I thirst,”
Jesus, in total awareness of every fact in the universe, knew that in God’s plan everything was done except one Scripture was left unfulfilled. Psalm 69:21 was that Scripture.
Psalm 69:21 said of Christ in His death,
21 They gave me also gall for my meat; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
He knew that that had not yet been fulfilled.
At the beginning of the cross they had tried to give Him vinegar, hadn’t they?
Really, gall, which ia a sedative; but He wouldn’t take it so He could suffer without any kind of deadness but suffer the total pain, But now He knows that Scripture needs to be fulfilled, so He says, “,. I thirst.”
Now the soldiers didn’t have to respond, they did because they were under divine motivation; God was moving to fulfill the prophecy.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
Isn’t it interesting that Psalm 69 knew that they would have a vessel of vinegar at the foot of the cross?
“Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, end put it to his mouth.”
They responded, Isn’t it also interesting that they did what He told them to do?
They were acting under divine control, He not only knew what the prophecy was to fulfill it; He made them do it, and they acted in response to total control by God.
So they took hyssop.
It’s interesting that hyssop, a long reed about 18” long with kind of a little more bushy end is what they used on this occasion because hyssop is very famous to all Jews, It takes them immediately back to Exodus 12:22.
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
You remember that the angel of death was going to pass over Israel, and God said to the people of Israel, You take—and He named what they should do—take hyssop and take the blood and sprinkle on the doorposts and the lintel.
Any time hyssop appears to the Jewish mind it’s reminiscent of the great sacrifice of the Passover lamb,
How fitting that hyssop should be the tool at this sacrifice of that final and greatest Passover Lamb.
The soldiers lifted it up to His lips that it might be able to moisten His lips and quench His thirst a little bit.
The word in the authorized for what they gave Him is vinegar.
The actual Greek word is oxos.
It’s a cheap sour wine that was highly diluted with water because it was a common every day drink for laborers and soldiers.
It was a thirst-quenching drink with a high amount of water and a very low amount of alcohol content and sour wine content.
So they gave this to Jesus to quench His thirst.
You say, “Was that an act of mercy?” Oh, I suppose momentary mercy, but the more mercy you showed in the moments, the more you prolonged the ultimate torture. But the idea is at least somebody came to give Him that. And the crowd saw this as another part of the joke—in verse 49—so they said,
49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
“Hold it, let Him alone, let’s see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”
That was their idea. And they carried on their little malicious mockery as far as they could.
All the way to the very end until He finally died, they jeered at Him with this kind of talk. So they missed the whole point.
Can you imagine they were doing this in pitch-black darkness?
It seems to me they would have stopped to think about what might be going on.
It seem to me they might have remembered Isaiah’s words about darkness and judgment.
It seems to me they might have remembered some of the other prophets who associated darkness with judgment. They might have even thought that what Joel predicted in chapter 2 was coming to pass, when the sun went out as Joel predicted it would in that great day when the Lord would come. I mean, they might have at least thought that maybe judgment was occurring.
And when they heard Him cry, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me,” they might well have understood that He was bearing their sin had they understood what was promised and what was required for sin. They understood little of it. They ignored the darkness and they mocked the sayings of Jesus.
So they give Him to drink, and with that Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy.
He was in full knowledge of every detail; He was in full control of everything He did and everything the soldiers did.
When He had put that to His mouth and had drunk of it, it was done,
The plan was complete, atonement was about to be finalized. Only 2 more statements remain
Verse 30 says,
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
This is the Victory of “Grace” This is when the Atonement blood was provided.
And having cried that, according to Luke 23:46,
46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
This is the Security of “Grace”
How do we receive Grace?
By Faith, believing that the death of Christ on the Cross of Calvary was a sufficient sacrifice for my sins.
Just like at the first passover in Exodus, by faith they followed the commands of God and chose their sacrifice, took the blood and applied it to their doorposts, and went inside and waited, having faith that when the death angel passed over, they would be safe.
Are you willing to believe?
