Thirst, Forsaken, and Commit
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· 3 viewsAs Jesus hung on the cross and died for our sins, His last words were intentional. For our Good Friday Service, Jesus said, "I am thirsty" (John 19:28). He said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:33-34); He also said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46) What do these last words teach us about Jesus and His mission? Join us as we marvel at Jesus Christ.
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Good Friday comments:
Good evening! We would like to welcome you to our Good Friday Service, as we celebrate and focus on the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins.
As we gather tonight, we have a couple of purposes that may seem like paradox—do you know what I mean by that? 2 things that don’t seem to go together—like when people say “Less is more.” “You have to go backwards to go forward.” so with our service tonight—we hope to strike 2 purposes:
one purpose is to be serious—it is is to focus on what Jesus Christ endured and did for us! when Jesus was on the cross—look at this.
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
His physical suffering, relational suffering, emotional suffering, and most of all bearing the wrath of God for our sins in our place, taking the punishment we deserve. There is a somber and serious note we want to have tonight. that it took the death of the eternal son of God for our sins. That what took place was the worst day in human history—that we killed Jesus Christ.
but at the same time we want to be joyful—we call it GOOD Friday—because what Jesus did—He did willingly!
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He did for the joy set before Him. He knew the cost, yet He did it anyway for us—and because of this—our sins are really paid for; we can be right with God—we have hope eternal all because of the horrible suffering of Jesus.
It’s Good Friday—both horrible yet awesome.
both sorrowful yet joyful.
both serious yet happy.
With that in mind—let’s pray.
TEACHING TIME 1.
we have been looking at the last words of Jesus as He hung on the cross.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, record 7 statements as Jesus hung on the cross
So far, we have seen - 3
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
to the criminal on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
and then to his mom—Mary and the apostle John, “Woman, here is your son.” and to the disciple John, “here is your mother.”
we have learned a lot about Jesus from these.
The next one we are going to look at is John 19:28-29
John 19:28–29 (NIV)
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
so Thirst (nail it to the cross)
Why would Scripture record that Jesus uttered these words--
4 reasons
it shows the agony and physical suffering Jesus endured. in some ways this statement is the biggest understatement ever—through everything Jesus went through, getting whipped, beaten, crown of thorns on his head, nails in his hands and feet…the lost off blood, the lack of sleep, the shock to his system, not being able to breathe—you would think Jesus might say “I am in pain.” “I am tired.” “This really hurts.” but no—I thirst…it reminds of us the physical agony of Jesus. of all he endured. have you ever been thirsty? really thirsty? Jesus was overwhelmingly thirsty
(note — the wine vinegar offered was Probably not the “wine mixed with myrrh” that charitable people offered Jesus on the way to the cross to function as a mild sedative and pain reliever (see Mark 15:23 and note). The incident here concerning the wine parallels Matt 27:34; Mark 15:36; Luke 23:36. Far from being a sedative, this thirst-quenching drink would prolong life and therefore prolong pain.)
he really is human - Jesus Christ is not a superhero in a human body. He is not 90% divine and 10% human, or even 50/50. He is 100% human and 100% god and this statement shows it, and he had to be both.
b/c if he was only 100% god and not human in any way—then his death (first of all couldn’t really happen) but 2nd it wouldn’t apply to us—because he wasn’t human
and if he was only 100% human and not god—then his death would only be like any other death in human history.
no he is both—and we are reminded of the humanity of Jesus—that his death was really in our place. that he really was our representative because He was fully human—he thirsted.
he fulfills Scripture—this language of I am thirsty-
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
Jesus is completely obedient to His Father—God is completely in control of all these events.
finally—it reminds us of the cup that Jesus drank on the cross. what is the cup? When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane right before he went to the cross,
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
He prayed, ‘Father, if it is possible take this cup from me...” the cup in Scripture was an image of God’s wrath. Jesus drank the very depths of God’s wrath against sin in our place—so that we could drink the cup of communion with Jesus. He drank it down to its very bottom, and yet still thirsted…so that we could be full and not thirst.
I thirst...
let me invite the worship team as we continue to praise God for his goodness and let’s pray.
TEACHING TIME 2
the next last words we are going to look at are in Mark 15:33-34
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
34 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?”).
so the next words are “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
What does this continue to show about Jesus:
First of all, it again fulfills Scripture—Jesus is actually quoting from Psalm 22.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
King David uttered these words—and Jesus is in the line of King David—Jesus is the perfect, ultimate King...
It shows what Jesus went through on the cross. Many of us assume that the worst thing Jesus faced was physical pain—and let’s face it—it was horrible…dying on a cross would have been a slow, agonizing painful death that the Roman Empire perfected to prolong death as much as possible.
but the worst pain that Jesus felt—was more than physical—it was emotional, relational, spiritual. In that moment on the cross—Jesus became sin for us. He bore the wrath of God against sin.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
in that moment, Jesus who has always been in perfect communion, perfect fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit—was utterly alone and cut off from his Father. If hell is the absence of fellowship with God,He experienced a hell on earth for us.
in a finite moment, he endured an infinite weight of sin—paying for all our sin, past, present, and future for those who trust in Christ.
and it was so stark that people remember Jesus saying it in the original Aramaic---
and yet still—Jesus still says, “My God, My God...” He hadn’t abandoned trust in his Father…
Jesus Christ said, “My God My God why have you forsaken me.”
He did it to glorify His Father and for us...
because Jesus went through the worst we have an incredible freedom
I want to invite the worship team forward again, and would you pray for me. song: Free, Amen--
TEACHING TIME 3
one more statement of Jesus is found in Luke 23:46
46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
(nail to the cross)
again this is teaching us that Jesus is fulfilling Scripture.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
Jesus knowing he is about to die—says this.
amazing!
it is remarkable how much Scripture Jesus quoted...
when you and I go through pain—even if you hit your finger with a hammer—what do you say? You don’t even think about it—it is instinctive. in fact, pain and suffering often show you what is really inside you—out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
it is amazing that Jesus said this because despite all the pain and the worst suffering in the world—He is utterly trusting His Father to the end. He is quoting Scripture...
and He trusted that God would deliver Him
and because He trusted to the end—we can too, because one has gone before us.
and if you are facing death now or one day you will—you can utter these same words as Jesus— “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit---” because of what Jesus said on the cross.
In the book of Acts, the first recorded martyr—was Stephen, and he prayed this similar prayer…b/c Jesus went before Him, and you can too.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
COMMUNION
we are going to celebrate what Jesus did by taking communion together.
just a reminder it is open to anyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ—you don’t have to be a member or regular attender. as long as you have trusted in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins, and He is your Lord and king and treasure, you are welcome to join. (parents, we leave it up to you to decide if your kids are ready—)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
the bread reminds us of Jesus’ body broken for us—that he physically gave it all in our place
and the cup reminds us that Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath down until it was empty, so that we could drink the cup of fellowship with Jesus.
because of Jesus’ body and blood, he paid it all.
we can even say it is finished! (nail it to the cross) that what Jesus did, he set out to do...
and when we eat, we are reminded of the benefits of what Jesus did for us...
this sacrifice is also a reminder that we need to regularly eat and drink the Gospel—that what Jesus did is to be on our minds and hearts regularly…that it is the power of God that enables us to live for Him, forgive others, trust God until death, endure through suffering, give generously--
would you take a moment and thank God for what He has done for you?
would you also take a moment and confess sin to the Lord?
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
Let’s eat together.
Let’s drink together.
last words — it is finished...
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Of the last sayings of Christ on the cross, none is more important or more poignant than, “It is finished.” Found only in the Gospel of John, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.” When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Not that Jesus wiped away any debt that He owed to the Father; rather, Jesus eliminated the debt owed by mankind—the debt of sin.