Good Friday

Intro:

SOME CHRISTIANS, upon meditating upon the cross of Christ, are left speechless.

Others can’t say enough.

There have likely been more sentences written on the cross of Christ than any other subject in world history.

John Stott calls the cross of Christ the “greatest and most glorious of all subjects” and says “there is … no Christianity without the cross

John Calvin said that “in the cross of Christ, as in a splendid theatre, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world. The glory of God shines but never more brightly than in the cross.

The Apostle Peter says

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God”

On the day of Passover the Jewish leaders brought Jesus before Pilate and Herod

Luke 23 tells us They couldn’t find any fault in them but the mob shouted crucify louder and they prevailed over Pilate

It would be easy to criticize Pilate’s weakness as a leader or blame the Jews for the death of Jesus

I’m reminded of what Jospeh said to his brothers after their father Jacob died

They were worried that he would seek revenge and he told them “What man meant for evil, God meant for good.”

Christians should never try to avoid the cross

This was God’s plan of redemption from the beginning

The lamb of God was sent to sacrifice Himself for us and that’s what makes this Good Friday

I want to look at the last four things Jesus said on the cross

I. Why Have You Forsaken Me? Matt 27:46

The fourth saying of Jesus on the cross was “My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Matt 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The fourth saying of Jesus from the cross is probably the most difficult for us to understand.

The sinless Son of God who had been, from all eternity, in an intimate relationship with His Father, is now spiritually separated from Him.

When the sins of the world were put upon Jesus there was, for the first time, a separation between the Father and the Son.

The Bible records something happened between them that we can only understand through the eye of faith.

2 Cor 5:19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them

The Father was placing the sins of the world upon the Son in order that everything in the universe that had been affected by sin could again be made right with God.

Jesus was suffering the pain and separation that we deserve

2 Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Some scholars believe this is what Moses and Elijah were discussing with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration

They were preparing Him for the cross

It is what Jesus sweated tears of blood over in the garden

He had never known sin nor separation from His father

That sin made God turn His back on Jesus because God is holy

That was why the skies grew dark for three hours

II. I Thirst John 19:28

The fifth saying of Jesus on the cross was I thirst

John 19:28-29 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth

It was the custom for respected women in Jerusalem to humanely provide a narcotic drink to those condemned to death in order to ease their pain (T B Sanhedrin 43a).

This mercy was prompted by Proverbs 31:6, 7: “Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.”

When Jesus arrived at Golgotha, he was offered “wine mixed with myrrh,” presumably by the daughters of Jerusalem (since this was a Jewish rather than a Roman custom), “but he did not take it” (Mark 15:23) because he determined to endure with full consciousness the bitter sufferings appointed for him.

He lived as a man and suffered as a man in order that He could identify with suffering humanity.

From this statement we observe that Jesus suffered the full physical effect of crucifixion.

There was no easing up, for the weight of our sins was placed upon Him.

He would have gladly escaped them if it were the Father’s will

But since it was not possible, he determined to drink the cup to its fullest.

Jesus did not come to suffer as little as he could

The fact that he thirsted shows that he was fully human like us and had needs

III. It is Finished John 19:30

The sixth saying of Jesus on the cross was “It is finished.”

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The sixth statement from Jesus while on the cross was a cry of victory.

The Greek text reads tetelestai, "It is finished."

What was finished?

As we consider the life and ministry of Jesus we can think of several things that His death made complete.

1. Jesus Finished The Job That The Father Gave Him To Do

First, Jesus had to finish the task the Father had sent Him to earth to accomplish, namely to provide salvation for humankind.

By living His entire life without sin, Jesus was able to become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The way of salvation had now been made complete.

No more animal sacrifices were necessary for they had only pointed to the ultimate sacrifice Jesus had now offered.

His was the supreme sacrifice which satisfied the righteous demands of a holy God.

2. Jesus Fulfilled Prophecy

The second thing that was accomplished by Jesus on the cross was a fulfillment of prophecy.

The predicted Messiah had come as God promised He would.

Is 53: 4-5 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

3. Jesus Achieved Victory Over The Devil

A third matter that was accomplished by Jesus' death on the cross was the victory over the devil.

The Scripture says that one of the purposes for Jesus' coming was to destroy the works of the devil

1 John 3:8b The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

The death of Christ finished that task.

The dominion over the earth that man, through his sin, had handed over to the devil was now won back.

The authority of Satan had been vanquished - the victory had been won.

When Christ comes back again He will take hold of the victory that He won over the devil on Calvary's cross.

IV. Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit Luke 23:46

The final saying of Jesus is “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

This is the final statement that we have from Jesus before His death.

Everything had been completed and now it was time to dismiss His spirit.

Jesus had previously made the statement that He would willingly lay down His life for His sheep.

John 10:17-18 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

From this we realize that Jesus had to purposely dismiss His spirit; it could not be taken from Him.

Unless He desired to die, He would not have had to.

Because He was a willing victim, however, He chose to die.

Upon making His final statement, Jesus died.