I know I’ve been doing a lot of posting about the crucifixion and the cross lately, maybe I should save some of this for next Easter, but I’m going to draw from that well one more time, and then next week, I believe I will get on to something else.
Jesus made seven statements from the cross, and each of them has some significance (after all, even on the cross, Jesus wouldn’t be making idle conversation, now, would He?).
The first one is, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) I think this one is pretty clear. Jesus was dying for the sins of the whole world, including those responsible for His death. He prayed for forgiveness for them, not just so that God would forgive them, but so that we would know to follow His example and forgive them, also.
Second, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Here He was speaking to the thief who confessed Him from the cross. This statement causes some confusion, in that, a) the Bible goes on to tell us that, three days later, Jesus still had not ascended to the Father, so how could He have been with the thief in paradise on the same day He was crucified? Of course, we know that, with God, passage of time isn’t necessarily what we human beings think of it as being. b) The only thing the thief has done is to confess with his mouth and believe in his heart. Those are important things for achieving salvation, but none of the rest of us got offered that deal. Of course, none of the rest of us was in such extreme circumstances when we recognized our need, either. Suddenly I think that Monday I will be blogging about the thief on the cross.
Third, “Woman, behold thy son!” and “Behold thy mother!” This was spoken to His own mother and to John the Beloved. I think it’s only natural that He would want to be sure that she would be taken care of, but, also, I think that this is an indication that He wanted the church to be family, and we should take care of those in our church family, even if they are not related to us by blood. Notice also that He did not call her mother. I think that is significant. He wasn’t trying to put her in a position of being the mother of God. He didn’t intend for people to bother her with supplications (that is, “Please, Mary, I’m afraid to go to God with this directly, but would you talk to your Son, and get Him to talk to His Dad…”).
Fourth, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34) which is ancient Hebrew for, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” That seems like an odd thing for our Savior to say when doing what had to be done for our salvation; He’s paying the ultimate price and doing God’s will, why would God abandon Him? The standard answer amongst Bible scholars is that it was at that moment that Jesus took on our sin, and the Father, being unable to look upon sin, had to turn from Jesus. I have a problem with that, though. The Bible says that all have sinned, so how could God look on any of us? To be honest, I don’t see any place in the Bible where it says that God cannot look on sin. Doesn’t the Bible say that God saw the wickedness in the days of Noah? Another theory that has been floated is that it was at that moment that the Spirit of God left the body of Christ, that, for the first time in His life, Jesus was completely human. Usually, they say that this is just before the flesh died. I don’t buy that either. Notice that I said there were seven things said on the cross, and each of them has significance. We are only on number four. What does occur to me is that what Jesus said is a direct quote from something David wrote many, many years earlier, in the 22nd Psalm. If you read the 22nd Psalm, it’s uncanny how, even though David wrote it, it sounds much more like what Jesus was going through on the cross than anything David ever went through (although David certainly had some difficult times, as well). I also think that it’s significant that Israel had been under Roman occupation so long that most of the bystanders at the crucifixion did not even understand what He said in their own language.
Fifth, “I thirst.” (John 19:28) Some people will, of course, take issue with this, on the grounds that, in the book of John, this passage appears immediately after the third statement. In Mark, however, immediately after the forsaken me statement, they got Jesus some vinegar, even though Mark doesn’t record Jesus asking for anything to drink.
Sixth, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) The Greek word translated here as finished, teleo, also means to bring to a close, to end, to complete, to fulfill, to do just as commanded, or to pay. From what I understand, this word was commonly used by Greek shopkeepers the same way that modern shopkeepers would mark a bill, “Paid in full.” I personally don’t like dragging the ancient tongues into it, because I think that if you have a Bible that is a good translation, the meaning should be clear (although sometimes you have to learn a little about how English was spoken 400 years ago), but I have to admit, the idea that Jesus was intimating, at His death, that our debt was paid in full really appeals to me.
Seventh, “Father, into your hands, I commend my Spirit.” (Luke 23:46) This shows us that Jesus died, not just because He was crucified, but also because it was His will. Remember that He said that no man would take His life from Him in John 10:17. It is finished; the sacrifice is complete. The sins of the whole world are taken care of—at least, those of us that have made the choice to follow Him.
Jesus made seven statements from the cross, and each of them has some significance (after all, even on the cross, Jesus wouldn’t be making idle conversation, now, would He?).
The first one is, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) I think this one is pretty clear. Jesus was dying for the sins of the whole world, including those responsible for His death. He prayed for forgiveness for them, not just so that God would forgive them, but so that we would know to follow His example and forgive them, also.
Second, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Here He was speaking to the thief who confessed Him from the cross. This statement causes some confusion, in that, a) the Bible goes on to tell us that, three days later, Jesus still had not ascended to the Father, so how could He have been with the thief in paradise on the same day He was crucified? Of course, we know that, with God, passage of time isn’t necessarily what we human beings think of it as being. b) The only thing the thief has done is to confess with his mouth and believe in his heart. Those are important things for achieving salvation, but none of the rest of us got offered that deal. Of course, none of the rest of us was in such extreme circumstances when we recognized our need, either. Suddenly I think that Monday I will be blogging about the thief on the cross.
Third, “Woman, behold thy son!” and “Behold thy mother!” This was spoken to His own mother and to John the Beloved. I think it’s only natural that He would want to be sure that she would be taken care of, but, also, I think that this is an indication that He wanted the church to be family, and we should take care of those in our church family, even if they are not related to us by blood. Notice also that He did not call her mother. I think that is significant. He wasn’t trying to put her in a position of being the mother of God. He didn’t intend for people to bother her with supplications (that is, “Please, Mary, I’m afraid to go to God with this directly, but would you talk to your Son, and get Him to talk to His Dad…”).
Fourth, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34) which is ancient Hebrew for, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” That seems like an odd thing for our Savior to say when doing what had to be done for our salvation; He’s paying the ultimate price and doing God’s will, why would God abandon Him? The standard answer amongst Bible scholars is that it was at that moment that Jesus took on our sin, and the Father, being unable to look upon sin, had to turn from Jesus. I have a problem with that, though. The Bible says that all have sinned, so how could God look on any of us? To be honest, I don’t see any place in the Bible where it says that God cannot look on sin. Doesn’t the Bible say that God saw the wickedness in the days of Noah? Another theory that has been floated is that it was at that moment that the Spirit of God left the body of Christ, that, for the first time in His life, Jesus was completely human. Usually, they say that this is just before the flesh died. I don’t buy that either. Notice that I said there were seven things said on the cross, and each of them has significance. We are only on number four. What does occur to me is that what Jesus said is a direct quote from something David wrote many, many years earlier, in the 22nd Psalm. If you read the 22nd Psalm, it’s uncanny how, even though David wrote it, it sounds much more like what Jesus was going through on the cross than anything David ever went through (although David certainly had some difficult times, as well). I also think that it’s significant that Israel had been under Roman occupation so long that most of the bystanders at the crucifixion did not even understand what He said in their own language.
Fifth, “I thirst.” (John 19:28) Some people will, of course, take issue with this, on the grounds that, in the book of John, this passage appears immediately after the third statement. In Mark, however, immediately after the forsaken me statement, they got Jesus some vinegar, even though Mark doesn’t record Jesus asking for anything to drink.
Sixth, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) The Greek word translated here as finished, teleo, also means to bring to a close, to end, to complete, to fulfill, to do just as commanded, or to pay. From what I understand, this word was commonly used by Greek shopkeepers the same way that modern shopkeepers would mark a bill, “Paid in full.” I personally don’t like dragging the ancient tongues into it, because I think that if you have a Bible that is a good translation, the meaning should be clear (although sometimes you have to learn a little about how English was spoken 400 years ago), but I have to admit, the idea that Jesus was intimating, at His death, that our debt was paid in full really appeals to me.
Seventh, “Father, into your hands, I commend my Spirit.” (Luke 23:46) This shows us that Jesus died, not just because He was crucified, but also because it was His will. Remember that He said that no man would take His life from Him in John 10:17. It is finished; the sacrifice is complete. The sins of the whole world are taken care of—at least, those of us that have made the choice to follow Him.
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