7 Sayings of the Cross – Part 7 - “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

Temple Baptist Church - 4-5-2026

Luke 23:44-24:12

 

Introduction:

A.  Today, we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, the Capstone of the Gospel.  I thank God this morning for a finished work that saves the eternal souls of the repentant, believing individual.

 

B.  This morning, I read the Gospel to you.  We normally preach on the cross, then on the resurrection.  For the first time, because I started on the 7 sayings of Christ a week later than usual, it opened up the totality of the Gospel in one message.  Paul emphasized the Gospel’s importance in Romans chapter one.

 

Romans 1:16-17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  (17)  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

 

C.  In First Corinthians chapter, Paul gave the Definition of the Gospel.

 

1 Corinthians 15:1-4  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  (2)  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  (3)  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  (4)  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

 

D.  In our text, we find the demonstration of the Gospel made plain and simple. 

 

1.  Luke 23:44-46, the death of Christ according to the Scripture. 

 

2.  Luke 23:50-53, the burial of Christ.

 

3.  Luke 24:1-3, the resurrection of Christ according to the Scriptures.

 

E.  Now, let us look at the Scriptural account found in these verses.

 

1.  The Death of Christ and the Believer.

 

Luke 23:44-46  And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  (45)  And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.  (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.

 

a.  At the instant Christ died, His spirit left the body.  “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

 

b.  His spirit returned to God the Father, who gave it.  “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

 

c.  In like manner, at the moment of our deaths, our spirits will leave our bodies.

 

2 Corinthians 5:6-8  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:  (7)  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)  (8)  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

 

d.  Our spirit will go back to God, who gave it.

 

Genesis 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

 

2.  The Burial of Christ and the Believer.

 

Luke 23:50-53  And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:  (51)  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.  (52)  This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  (53)  And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

 

a.  The dead body of Christ was hidden from the sight of men in a sepulchre.  “in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone.”

 

b.  Our dead bodies will be placed in a grave, hidden from the eyes of men.

 

Genesis 23:4  I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

 

c.  Now for a major but all-important difference between the death of Christ and the believer.  Christ’s body suffered no corruption!  “But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.”  Sin had no hold on Christ!

 

Acts 13:36-37  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:  (37)  But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

 

d.  Our bodies immediately begin to corrupt at death because of Adamic sin.  “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:”

 

John 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

 

e.  At the moment of death, Christ went to Abraham’s Bosom, then led those Old Testament saints to heaven with Him.  Both places of comfort and joy.

 

Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

 

Ephesians 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

 

f.  At the moment of death, we will be with the Lord.

 

2 Corinthians 5:6  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

 

3.  The Resurrection of Christ and the Believer.

 

a.  The resurrection of Christ was a bodily resurrection.

 

Luke 24:2-3  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.  (3)  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

 

Luke 24:6  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

 

b.  The believer’s resurrection will be a bodily one.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.  (15)  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  (16)  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  (17)  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 

c.  As Christ’s body was His body, our bodies will be ours, but now incorruptible and eternal.

 

1 John 3:1-2  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  (2)  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

d.  Salvation is based upon a finished work and God’s amazing grace.

 

Romans 10:5-13  For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.  (6)  But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)  (7)  Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)  (8)  But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;  (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.  (12)  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.  (13)  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

Conclusion:  A perfect Gospel.  “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  (4)  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

7 Sayings of the Cross – Part 6 - It Is Finished

Temple Baptist Church - 3-29-2026

John 19:28-37

 

Introduction:

 

John 19:30  “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”  Ghost – pneuma – breath.  (As every human who dies, the spirit leaves the body at the instant of death, thus did the Son of Man.)

 

Genesis 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

 

Jesus, the man, died; God, the Son, did not die. 

 

A.  Thus far, we have seen:

 

1.  Calvary’s Pardon as Jesus Christ cried out for the forgiveness of Herod, the king of Galilee, Pilate was the Roman governor in Judea, the Roman soldiers who drove the nails into His hands and feet carried out the brutal torture, to the Jews who planned it, and for all the human race who are responsible for His crucifixion.  “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!”

 

2.  Calvary’s Promise as Jesus Christ responded to the penitent cry of a dying thief.  To the thief, He promised, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” thus giving hope to all who put their faith in Him.

 

3.  Calvary’s Provision as Jesus Christ placed His loving mother into the hands of John the beloved.  “Woman, behold thy son…Behold thy mother.”  Dying, our Lord entrusted His earthly family to His earthly church.

 

4.  Calvary’s Price as our Lord became sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him!  “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Because Jesus Christ literally became sin for us that we might one day live forever with Him.

 

5.  Calvary’s Pain, as Jesus Christ’s voice was heard once more.  “I thirst.”  He suffered as no man has ever suffered, and His suffering was for our sins.

 

6.  This morning, we came to Calvary’s Purpose.  “It is finished!” 

 

In 1921, Jennie Evelyn Hussey wrote the hymn “Lead Me To Calvary. It starts out:

“King of my life I crown Thee now— Thine shall Thy glory be;

Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary.

“Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony;

Lest I forget thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.”

 

B.  Here we find words of finality!  Years ago, I heard Dr. James Crumpton preach on this subject and remember well his emphasis on the Greek word used here: “teleo.”  The last stroke of the artist’s paintbrush!

 

C.  Jesus Christ, Jehovah God incarnate, came to die for the sins of the world.  He came to finish the work that the Father gave Him to do.  In the phrase “it is finished,” we find accomplishment.  His life: His work finished and summed up in one short phrase.

 

1.  Calvary, where redemption’s price was paid.

 

2.  Calvary, where the Just became the Justifier.

 

3.  Calvary, where the Innocent took the place of the guilty.

 

4.  Calvary, where the blood shed covers my sin, my guilt, and my shame.

 

5.  Calvary, where God’s mercy is great, and His grace is free.

 

6.  Calvary, where the burdened soul finds true liberty!

 

D.  This morning, we find not a distressed voice, not a cry of defeat, BUT a clarion cry of victory! “IT IS FINISHED!”

 

E.  As I thought on this sixth saying from the cross, I pondered on just what Jesus Christ had finished.  I hope and pray that these will be a blessing to you as they were to me.

 

1.  In “It Is Finished,” we find the Word of God Verified. – Genesis 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

John 19:28  After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.  (There were hundreds of prophecies written concerning Jesus Christ and He fulfilled every prophecy, every promise, every “jot and tittle” perfectly and completely!  God’s Word can be depended upon not only in the performance of this life but also the expectation of the life to come.  Jesus Christ left nothing undone!)

 

2.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Work of Propitiation Finished – John 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 

 

John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  (At Calvary, we find the finishing of 4,000 years of sacrifices!  Millions and millions of lambs had died while awaiting the death of THE Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.  Mankind had long awaited Messiah’s coming and we look back to His coming in wonder and amazement.  When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was saying that the substitutionary work on the cross for us had been accomplished.)

 

Peter said, in I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”  (Jesus Christ became the “scapegoat” for you and me.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking my place and dying for my sins!)

 

3.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Way of Salvation Established – John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

 

1 Corinthians 1:17-18  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  (18)  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  (Man can teach and preach anything that he chooses but it does not change the fact that salvation is through Jesus Christ and Him alone!  Not a church, not a denomination, not a movement, not a baptism, not a sacrament, not a dogma, and not an individual theology—but the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Man can go his own way but he will not go to heaven until he comes God’s way!)

 

4.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Wages of Sin Paid In Full – Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ezekiel 18:20a  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Jesus Christ became the “Sinner’s Substitute.”  Our sin separated us from a holy God and Jesus Christ, our Propitiation, reconciled us back to Him through the finished work of Calvary.)

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hebrews 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  (The cross upon which Jesus died was an “altar” and He was the “sacrifice.”)

 

5.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Lost of the World Condemned – John 3:16-18  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.  (17)  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (18)   He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 

1 John 5:10  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

 

John 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  (As Christ suffered for us as no man ever suffered, so the sinner who rejects Christ will one day suffer for all of eternity!)

 

6.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Works of The Devil Destroyed – 1 John 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

Revelation 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  (God will destroy Satan’s position, his purpose, his power, his people, and ultimately his person.  Because of Calvary, one day there will be no more Satan!)

 

7.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Wealth of Eternity Secured – Revelation 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;  (Because of the finished work of Christ on Calvary, one day we that are saved will be “finally home!)

 

Conclusion:  I said all that to say this: “It is finished” for me this morning.  My sin is gone and my eternity secured.  Earth is my “hell,” and I am thoroughly enjoying it!  Heaven is my eternal home, and I am looking forward to it!  Even so come, Lord Jesus!

7 Sayings of the Cross – Part 5 - I Thirst

Temple Baptist Church - 3-22-2026

John 19:28-30; Isaiah 52:14-53:11

 

Introduction:

A.  Calvary is an inexhaustible subject as it involves the infinite love, mercy, grace, and sacrifice of God for sinful man. 

 

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

 

Sinful man, loved by a holy God in spite of fault and failure.  The reconciliation of the irreconcilable!   Oh, what a Saviour Jesus Christ is!

 

B.  “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished!”  Thus far, we have seen:

 

1.  Calvary’s Pardon as Jesus Christ cried out for the forgiveness of those who knew not what they did.   “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!”

 

2.  Calvary’s Promise as Jesus Christ responded to the penitent cry of a dying thief.  “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” thus giving hope to all who put their faith in Him.

 

3.  Calvary’s Provision as Jesus Christ placed His loving mother into the hands of John the beloved.  “Woman, behold thy son…Behold thy mother.”  Dying, our Lord entrusted His earthly family to His earthly church.

 

4.  Calvary’s Price as our Lord became sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him!  “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Because Jesus Christ literally became sin for us that we might one day live forever with Him.

 

5.  Now we come to Calvary’s Pain, as, in the darkness of the noonday, Jesus Christ’s voice was heard once more.  “I thirst.”  Sin is now taken care of from God’s side of the cross, and, for the first time, we see the human side. 

 

C.  All things are now accomplished!  Jesus Christ has done all that He came to do.  He has left nothing undone, including the care of His earthly mother.  I continue to emphasize “His earthly mother” because Jesus Christ—as Jehovah God—had no mother!  He has now become sin for us and is “forsaken” by the Father.  As we were separated from the Father by our sin, Jesus Christ is now separated from the Father by our sin! 

 

Romans 14:8-9  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.  (9)  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

 

D.  At Calvary, we find the climax of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry; the culmination of God’s Salvation Plan, which was pre-determined from the foundation of the world.  During these hours of darkness, we find the payment of sin manifested in a twofold suffering. 

 

E.  “I thirst!”  For the first time, Jesus Christ requested something for Himself!  In Matthew 27, before His crucifixion, the Roman soldiers offered Him vinegar mingled with gall, which would have dulled the pain and lessened the suffering.  Jesus Christ refused the sedation offered! 

 

Matthew 27:33-35a  And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,  (34)  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.  (35)  And they crucified him…  

 

F.  That the scripture might be fulfilled - Psalms 69:21  They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 

 

Our Lord fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy during His earthly life. This was proof positive that Jesus Christ was Jehovah God in the flesh!

 

G.  An ordinary man would not have made it to this point!  Isaiah 52:14, 53:5  “As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men… But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” 

 

No man has ever been beaten as Christ was beaten!  He was unrecognizable as a man before He went to the cross.

 

Isaiah 52:13-15  Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.  (14)  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:  (15)  So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

 

Isaiah 53:1-5  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?  (2)  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.  (3)  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  (4)  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  (5)  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

 

 

H.  The pain and suffering were beyond our human imagination!  I have read much concerning the suffering from a medical viewpoint, and the agony must have been beyond anything that we have ever experienced.  I do not want to major on these physical sufferings, but do want us to realize that no man has ever or ever will suffer as He suffered.

 

J.  The Roman soldiers could not kill Him!  The crucifixion could not kill Him! 

 

John 10:17-18  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  (18)  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 

 

We will find in a later message that Jesus Christ had to dismiss (lay down) His life for us.  His death was entirely voluntary!

 

K.  The Sufferings of Christ were manifold:  **Isaiah 52:14-53:11

 

1.  The Sufferings of Gethsemane – The Sorrow of the Soul

 

a.  Suffering at the hands of Sorrow of the Soul - Matthew 26:38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

 

b.  Suffering at the hands of Sleeping Saints - Matthew 26:40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

 

c.  Suffering at the hands of Sinners - Matthew 26:45  Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

 

d.  Suffering at the hands of a Supposed Saint - Matthew 26:47-49  And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.  (48)  Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.  (49)  And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

 

2.  The Suffering of Separation – The Sorrow of the Spirit

 

a.  The Son of God, for the first and last time in all eternity, separated from God the Father.  The great Three In One no longer in unity!  The great I AM became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him!

 

b.  The suffering of separation from God the Father!  I believe that the greatest of all of the sufferings of Christ were shown in the statement, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” 

 

c.  In hell, the rich man of Luke 16 was separated from Abraham’s Bosom by a gulf that was “fixed” by God.  It was a gulf that could not be breached.  Sin separates and this division must be reconciled in order for men to eternally live with the Lord.  At Calvary, we find a great gulf “fixed” by God that could not be breached until sin had been paid for once and for all.

 

3.  The Sufferings Of Golgotha – The Sorrow of the Flesh

 

a.  He was lied about - Mark 14:55-56  And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.  (56)  For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

 

b.  They spit upon Him - Matthew 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

 

c.  They smote Him - Matthew 26:67  Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

 

d.  They mocked Him - Luke 23:11  And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

 

e.  They scourged Him - John 19:1  Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

 

f.  They crowned Him with thorns - Mark 15:17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

 

g.  They smote Him on the crown of thorns - Mark 15:19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

 

h.  They rejected Him for a thief - Luke 23:18  And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:

 

i.  They caused Him to bear His cross - John 19:17  And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

 

j.  They nailed Him to the tree - Psalms 22:16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

 

k.  They pierced His side - John 19:34  But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

 

Conclusion:  So few words to describe such suffering.  “They crucified him…I thirst!”  What the world normally watched in the light, God shrouded with darkness.

HH…

HH11111

1.  The Magnitude Of That Thirst can never be fully realized.

 

2.  The Meaning Of That Thirst takes us to the depths of hell and a rich man who cried for water out of his torments.

 

3.  The Message Of That Thirst is once again that Christ died for the sins of the world!  They crucified Him – Three little words!  Psalms 22:14  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 

 

He suffered physically in almost every way—I know that Christ's death and suffering were different from others, but here is a description of what crucifixion would feel like to the human body, and Christ experienced that.

 

Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild sedative. He refuses to drink. He is laid on the cross on His back. His flesh is in ribbons, and the pain is excruciating. The Roman soldier drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through one hand and deep into the wood. He moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The cross is then lifted into place and drops into its socket. His weight falls helplessly upon the nailed hands and feet. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in His hands, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain—the nails in the hands and feet put pressure on the nerves. As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again, there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps, He cannot push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, His pectoral muscles are paralyzed, and the intercostal muscles cannot act. Air can be drawn into the lungs but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and bloodstream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and draw in the life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences recorded. Now follows hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins—a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. One remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart struggles to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues; the tortured lungs make a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues flood the brain with stimuli. Jesus gasps His fifth cry, "I thirst." One remembers another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death." A sponge soaked in vinegar is lifted to His lips. He apparently does not take any of the liquid. Jesus’s body is now in extreme distress, and death nears. He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. His mission of atonement has completed as He cries, "It is finished." With one last surge of strength, He once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, "Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit." Now He wills His body to die for you and for me!

7 Sayings Of The Cross – Part 4 - Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

Temple Baptist Church - 3-15-2026

Mark 15:25-36

 

Introduction: 

A.  The first 3 hours on the cross, Christ was crucified, and though the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross was one of great importance, the Lord took care of “first things first” as He is a God of order.

 

1 Corinthians 14:40  Let all things be done decently and in order.

 

B.  He forgave those who were crucifying Him because it was my sin and your sin that hung Him there.  “Father, forgive them” showed us the mission of Calvary: without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.  Christ died for the sins of the whole world (1John 2:2).  Though Christ forgave those who crucified Him for that particular sin, He did not save them from an eternity in hell because that requires repentance and faith in Christ.  They had neither!  It also teaches us who are saved to forgive those who have hurt us, even if they do not ask for it or ever get right.

 

C.  He forgave and saved a dying thief who repented and believed in Him.  “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” showed us the men of salvation.  Though Christ died for all, not all are saved.  Only those who come to Him are born again.

 

D.  He made sure that his earthly mother was properly cared for after His death. “Woman, behold thy son” showed us the importance of his mother’s care in His absence.  We need our families and have a responsibility to them.  We are to be there for our families.

 

E.  This morning, I want to look at the next of the seven sayings: “Why hast thou forsaken me?” Here we see a change. Psalms 22-24 form a trilogy that foreshadows the cross of Calvary in 22, the care of the sheep in 23, and the coming of the King in 24. In this saying, we find the fulfillment of Psalm 22:1 as Christ is currently suffering for the sins of the world. 

 

F.  During the last three hours of the crucifixion, there was total darkness on the earth. 

 

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

G.  Here, we find the final forsaking of the Saviour.

 

1.  He had been forsaken by the multitudes. 

 

John 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.

 

2.  He had been forsaken by His disciples. 

 

Mark 14:50  And they all forsook him, and fled.

 

3.  He had been forsaken by Israel. 

 

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 

4.  He was forsaken by His Father. 

 

Mark 15:34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

 

H.  I want to look at that three hour period of darkness and try, with my finite mind, to grasp what infinitely took place.  In those three hours of darkness, we find:

 

1.  Darkness – “There was darkness” of sin as Christ became sin for us!  Now, we find darkness as God became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 

 

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

a.  Christ was crucified at the 3rd hour, or 9 AM. Mark 15:25 states, "And it was the third hour, and they crucified him." There were three hours during which our Lord was observed in light. From 12 noon until 3 PM (the 6th until the 9th hour), darkness covered the earth. This was an extraordinary event; it was not a solar eclipse, as a solar eclipse would have caused a twilight effect. According to Luke’s gospel, the “sun was darkened” (Luke 23:45a), as during the deliverance of Israel in Egypt, there was a darkness that could be felt.  Jesus Christ became sin for us during this time.

 

Amos 8:9  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

 

b.  When the Lord judged the sin of Egypt, He caused a darkness that may be felt. 

 

Exodus 10:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. 

 

It was an absolute darkness in which you could not see your hand in front of your face.  I have experienced such darkness while miles underground.  There is a complete absence of light.  Many of you have been in a cave when they turned out the lights and have felt the smothering effect of that darkness. 

 

c.  As sin brings about darkness, it also causes the heart to be darkened. 

 

Romans 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

 

John 3:19-21  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  (20)  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  (21)  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 

d.  There was darkness because the payment of sin at Calvary was between God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  God allowed no one else to observe.  Remission of sin is an act of God, not man! 

 

Isaiah 53:10-11  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  (11)  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

 

Jude 13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

 

2.  Division – “why hast thou forsaken me?”  Darkness and Light cannot co-exist, as light dispels darkness. 

 

Genesis 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

 

a.  There has always been a division between darkness and light. 

 

John 3:19-20  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  (20)  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

 

b.  Christ became sin for us!  Sin separates man from God. 

 

Habakkuk 1:13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

 

Isaiah 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

 

c.  Sin had to be paid for before relationship could be restored. 

 

Hebrews 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

 

3.  Despair – “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

 

a.  There is earthly despair because of sin. 

 

Proverbs 13:15  Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

 

b.  There is eternal despair because of sin. 

 

Jude 13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

 

4.  Deliverance – Mark 15:39  And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

 

a.  The light of deliverance is in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

 

2 Corinthians 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 

b.  The power of deliverance is found in salvation as we come to the light. 

 

John 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 

c.  The glory of deliverance is found in a new life in Christ. 

 

1 Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

 

Conclusion:  “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” 

 

a.  The wages of sin have been set. 

 

Genesis 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

Ezekiel 18:20a  The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

 

b.  The wages of sin never change. 

 

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

c.  God the Father forsook His only begotten Son for me!  God the Father forsook His only begotten Son for you!  God the Father forsook His only begotten Son for the whole world!