Good Friday 2022-- Seven Last Words

First Word: “Father, Forgive Them”

Luke 23:34 “34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.””

Is this an excuse or an accusation?

We usually use the fact that a person doesn’t understand what they’re doing to excuse them. Children, for example, are largely immune from the same sort of punishments that adults get because they don’t know what they’re doing. We usually use it as an excuse.

But what if, in this case, it’s an accusation? Do the soldiers really need to be forgiven for crucifying Him? Certainly there was plenty of mocking and beating that needed to be forgiven. But the crucifixion, itself, doesn’t. The problem is that they were doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

There was absolutely no need for Judas to betray Him. For some time, Jesus had been telling the apostles that He was headed to Jerusalem to die. He had made no secret about what was happening and that it needed to happen. There was no need for Judas to betray Jesus. Jesus would have handed Himself over.

If the priests, scribes, and pharisees had paid attention to their Bibles and correctly understood that Jesus was the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesies. They would have understood that He needed to be crucified. In their sinful arrogance, they were plotting and scheming… to do exactly what God intended to happen.

The problem wasn’t that they led Him to the cross and killed Him— that’s not what they needed forgiveness for— the problem was that they didn’t understand what they were doing. That is where their sin and guilt lay.

That sums up much of your sin and mine pretty well, too. How much do you and I do in order to make ourselves look good, either to those around us or to God, Himself? How often are you tempted to approach God as if He owed you something for your piety, your offerings, your service?

And yet the reality is that God is even more willing to give than you are to ask. And He doesn’t want to give you what you’ve ‘earned’, He wants to give you everything— all the riches of heaven, an eternity of growth and discovery and exploration and so much that you and I can not even imagine in this sinful world.

And so, He forgives both the crass appetites of your sinful flesh and your ignorant, sinful striving after the very things that He wants to give you. Today, Christ suffers and dies to forgive you, for you do not know what you do.

Second Word: “Today You Will Be With Me In Paradise”

Luke 23:43 “43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””

We rightly focus on the promise that the thief received— “Today you will be with me in paradise.” But there’s another, implied answer that’s equally amazing. Think back to what the thief asked for. His request was, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus’ response is, essentially, “Yes. I will remember you.”

That doesn’t sound like much, does it— that God will remember you? Doesn’t God know everything all the time? And yet, if you and I get such a boost from being recognized by a supervisor or a boss (as we certainly do), how much more blessed is it to be remembered by God— by the creator and ruler of the universe?

Or consider the opposite for a moment. One of the most devastating warnings that Jesus gives regarding judgment day is the caution that some will hear Him say, in that crucial moment: “I never knew you. Depart from me.” Isn’t that simple statement just as horrific as the worst descriptions of punishment?

Let that sink in for a moment. You and I all know what it’s like to be in trouble with your parents, for example. To be waiting to find out if you’re getting grounded or paddled or worse. But imagine if, in that moment, you approached your parents and heard, instead, “I never knew you. I have no idea who you are. Leave my house.” If you could put any thoughts together in that moment, wouldn’t you be pleading for any punishment, worse than the worst that you’ve ever gotten or could get, to not hear those words?

Jesus warns that, on the day when all humanity is gathered and eternal judgment is pronounced, some will hear the creator and ruler of the universe say to them, “I never knew you.” They will be

“banished from the presence of Him who is present everywhere and erased from the knowledge of Him who knows all. [They will] be left utterly and absolutely outside-repelled, exiled, estranged, finally, and unspeakably ignored.” (Lewis, C.S. The Weight of Glory.)

I doubt that this poor man had any clue what he was really asking. Certainly, all he was hoping for was a small amount of mercy. But Jesus was ready and willing to give Him far, far more. Jesus doesn’t just let him in to heaven— "Fine, you can come in but stay out of the way.” No, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The One, through whom all things were made, said to him, “Yes, I will remember you.”

And, if I might be so bold, the very same thing is true for all who cling to Him by faith. It’s not just directed at that thief on that particular cross on that particular day. It’s directed at you.

Isaiah 43:1-4 “1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.””

These are the words and promises of your Redeemer. “I will remember you.”

Third Word: “Behold Your Son… Behold Your Mother”

John 19:26-27 “26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

If all He had done was give you eternal life, that would have been enough— absolutely far more than you or I could have asked for or imagined— but it would have been plenty.

But that’s not all He’s done. He reconciled you to God, giving you eternal life. And He gives you others to love— husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters. All of them are yours, as well.

That love would be a bitter pill to swallow if it were all doomed from the start, if it were inevitable that it would be brought to nothing by death. If the laughter and the tears, the joy and the sorrow, all of it were just absorbed back into an indifferent universe as if it never happened that would be bitter, indeed. Add to that our own sins and failings, which hurt especially those closest to us, destroying those relationships, turning the joy and the laughter to ashes and dust and the whole thing would be unbearable.

But, on the cross, He gave you back to the Father. He made God your Heavenly Father once again. Gave you eternal life with Him in the new heaven and the new earth. And then He went further. He gave you each other.

Husbands, He gave each of you a wife, His unique creation, gifted in so many marvelous ways. Wives, He gave each of you a husband to be a living representation of Christ to you, giving himself for you, completely, in all things.

Parents, He gave you children through the incredible privilege and joy of procreation. Children, He gave you parents so that, together, you might begin to grasp the fullness of what it means that God is your Father.

Businessmen/women and workers, rulers and citizens, pastors and Christians, He has given you to one another so that you might know the unique joy of each form of love and service.

But not before He sanctified all of you, cleansing you with water through the word, presenting you to Himself and to each other in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26-27).

“Woman, behold your son. …Son, behold your mother.” That, too, is God’s gift to you in Jesus Christ.

Fourth Word: “My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

Matthew 27:46 “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?””

Mark 15:34 “34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””

This is the exception that ‘proves’ the rule.

At Jesus’ baptism, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son....” At the Transfiguration, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son....” When Abraham is commanded to sacrifice Isaac— Isaac becoming, in the process, a picture of Christ— God goes out of His way to refer to Isaac as “[Abraham’s] only son, whom [he] love[s]...” (Genesis 22:2). In the parable of the wicked tenants, when Jesus describes the owner of the vineyard finally sending his son to collect the rent he’s owed (after so many servants had been turned away empty handed), that son (who certainly represents Jesus) isn’t just described as a ‘son’, he is a “beloved son” (Mark 12:6, Luke 20:13). There seems to be a bit of a theme: God the Father’s deep, abiding love for God the Son.

Except for now.

In a completely premeditated act, carefully planned and carried out over the course of thousands of years, God the Father sent the most precious ‘thing’ He had to the cross. And there, the Beloved Son was forsaken. Not because He had failed His Father, but in perfect obedience to the Father’s will.

God the Father forsook His Beloved Son on account of their love for you. He paid an unthinkable price to redeem you. He gave everything to have you. That is the very heart of what today is all about. And it is the foundation for every moment of your life. You are God’s beloved children right now, even though what you will be has not yet appeared (1 John 3:2).

Even as you are tempted to despair over the good things that God seems to be holding back from you or the suffering that He’s giving you, it is always with the knowledge and the assurance that, first, He has given you the most precious of what He has. And “32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

This is the exception that proves the rule that Jesus is, in fact, the Beloved Son and, through Him, you are His beloved child, as well.

Fifth Word: “I Thirst”

John 19:28 “28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.””

This one kind of seems like a let down, doesn’t it? “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”— that has some real, deep meaning to it. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”— that’s important. “It is finished”— that’s something you and I need to know.

But “I thirst”? It seems like something that a student would include because he’s only got 150 words in his essay and the teacher is expecting 200. It’s certainly true, but did we really need to know it?

Of course the answer is yes. It is a reminder of just how complete and thorough what Jesus did on the cross is. At Christmas, one of our most beloved carols is “Joy to the World.” There’s a wonderful line in one of the verses that’s relevant to this. In it, we sing, “No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found....” That’s part of what this is about.

It’s easy to say that this world is corrupted by sin. Most of those effects are quite obvious— wars, natural disasters, murder, theft, etc.— but there are certainly others that we’re not aware of. You and I are like saltwater fish who don’t know that there’s salt in the water because that’s what they’ve always known. The corruption of sin is so deep within this creation that you and I have no concept of anything else.

But Jesus does. And He comes to extend His healing grace and forgiveness as far into this creation as that corruption extends— not just all the way out to the furthest reaches of this universe, but all the way down into the deepest depths of it, saturating all the way down into every crack and crevice of your being that was touched by sin, redeeming you and making both you and this creation completely and fundamentally new, untouched by even the most subtle effects of sin.

It may seem like a letdown; it may seem unimportant, but you will not realize the full meaning of it until you enter the new heaven and the new earth in which there is not only no more death or mourning or crying or pain, but also no more thirst. Every bit of it— every bit of you— has been made new.

Yes, you and I need to hear Him say, “I thirst.”

Sixth Word: “It Is Finished”

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

I once worked for an engineer who said that his dream job was to be a janitor. That was his dream job because a janitor mops a floor and it’s done. The job doesn’t linger. It doesn’t require additional adjustments or changes or anything else. It’s done. You can move on. As an engineer, though, he would finish the design, but then the property owner would change his mind and he’d have to go back and redo at least some of his work. And the architect would come back with a list of questions and adjustments. And the city inspectors would insist on other changes because he didn’t think that this detail or that one was up to code. And the contractor would know a better— usually cheeper— way to do it, so he’d get change requests. He dreamed of finishing a job and moving on.

There are many jobs in our lives that never seem to be finished. Some, because they go on and on for whatever reason and others because we can’t just let them be done. We can’t stop tinkering, adjusting, improving, controlling. Sometimes that’s harmless. Other times it’s a real problem.

Today we need to hear Jesus’ words: “It is finished.” The job is done. It is complete. There is nothing more.

Your sin really is paid for. In full. Completely. Not one single sin was left out. Nothing more needs to be paid. It is really and truly finished. Leave your guilt and shame there at the foot of the cross and move forward, completely free.

You are a holy creature. Not, “You’re becoming one,” or “You could be if you try hard enough.” You are. It is finished. As Luther said, Jesus has taken your sins from you and takn them upon Himself. Don’t take them back. Begin each day by leaving your sinful nature at the foot of His cross and moving forward in the new life that you were raised to in baptism.

There are certain jobs that never end, simply by their nature. But this is not one of them. Jesus’ work for you is truly finished.

Seventh Word: “Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit”

Luke 23:46 “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.”

His work now ended, our Lord commits Himself to God’s hands. He is able to commit Himself to God’s hands because He, alone, has obeyed God perfectly. He alone has loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He alone has loved His neighbor as Himself. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). He was crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering and death (Heb. 2:9). He alone, at the end of His life, is able to commit Himself into His Father’s hands.

Commit yourself to your Lord’s hands. These are the hands of the One who had compassion on the blind and the deaf, the paralytic and the leper, and healed them. These are the hands of the One who delights in pardoning transgression. He is the One who said through the prophet Isaiah, “15 Can a woman forget her nursing child…? [She will forget her nursing child before I] forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

Commit yourself into His hands, morning and evening— your body and soul and all things. Commit yourself into His hands both now and at the hour of death. Commit yourself into His hands because, from this day forth, as long as He bears the scars, your name is engraved in the palm of His hands.