Seven Words
For the Lord’s Day:  the 20^th of April 2003

Various Scriptures

Introduction:  It was Resurrection Season in 1972  the Senior Pastor where I was employed as a temporary assistant handed me the liberal rag which passed as a denominational magazine.  In it were brief meditations on the traditional seven last words spoken on the cross by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I was assigned three of the seven (two-four-six) and instructed that whether or not I agreed with the outline presented  it was my responsibility to follow the party-line.  Well, I didn’t because there wasn’t much of any gospel content in the politically correct documentation.  And so, I was chastised and eventually black-balled within the denomination of my father’s.

Again, within a couple of years, I participated in a community service on a Good Friday and the two of us local pastors took up the seven words from different perspectives.  That time, I was considered the more liberal brother.  Yet, my more conservative brother was only disgruntled that we had not used the opportunity to have an altar call and the main reason I was suspect in his eyes was the fact that I had several hundred books and knew how to use them.  Another more liberal student-pastor who participated in the service  was upset that his people had been exposed to the mythical fancies of years gone by and he thought I had betrayed the work and witness of our liberal denominations.

And so, there I was, in my first church  caught between the liberal main-liners on one hand and the revivalist evangelicals on the other.  Since I was able to speak to both camps with some minimal authority, there was even thought of electing me as President of the county-wide ministerial association.  At the last minute in the orderly process towards that end, I was sidelined and the liberals decided that they could do better without any of the conservative brethren in participation.

I learned a lot in those three short years of service in my first church: about the politics of “evangelical” religious associations and the increasing liberalization of the main-line churches.  And ever since, I have been careful to beware of meaningless associations outside of our Reformed circles which I was unable to join until a decade after the initial struggles to come into the ministry.  I would guess that since those two series on the Seven Words were so entwined with those associations and the painful memories thereof: I have not returned again to look at them until now, thirty years later!

Development:  Let me begin my discussion with this notice.  In many cases, this popular catholic, liberal and evangelic series goes by the nomenclature of “The Seven Last Words of Christ.”  I do not follow in that labeling  since we well know that Jesus rose from the dead and spoke too many of the brethren over several weeks before He ascended into heaven.  Nevertheless, these extraordinary words from the cross on the afternoon when Christ died for our sins have remained instructive for the Church through many ages. 

A second point that I must make an observation upon is the fact that there are several orderings of the Seven Words depending upon how various scholars order the combined witness of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Since I have not profound witness to offer in this regard, I would only ask you to consider these seven words as a multi-pointed sermon and not hold me to a strict biblical accounting of what was said exactly in what order.

1.  We begin in the Gospel of Luke (23:33-34) “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments.”

Remember, Jesus and the two criminals had just been nailed bodily to the wooden frame on which they would spend the last few hours of their lives in severe pain and suffering.  The jolt and jostling of being lifted upright and the dropping of the cross into the hole already dug would have torn the flesh and increased the initial pain.  Only the fact that the nails had pierced between the bones and muscles would have kept the bodies in place during this planting of the crosses in place.  Very probably, the holes would not have been filled in, or the dirt tamped to make the structure stay upright, after all this was only a temporary process and the crosses may well have been left unbalanced  thereby increasing the pain.

Of course, there were several people involved and even more present in the crowd.  Would we hear His voice of forgiveness and consider the forgiveness as general for all present, even the whole of mankind as many would insist?  To me  that suggestion seems off the mark of what we understand about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’s work down through the ages since Adam to our own.  Verse thirty-four no sooner pronounces forgiveness that it moves on to describe the activity of the laborers who gambled to claim their wages in the form of the garments worn by those crucified.

We know that at least one in the work party, the supervising Centurion indeed watched and learned more than many during these dark hours of human endeavor.  We move on to verse forty-seven of the same chapter in Luke to hear what he learned:  “Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God saying ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’  Matthew (27: 54) in his Gospel description, records the Centurion further:  “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The Centurion, who was the Roman military representative authority, was there only to carry out his assigned duty  along with his squad or platoon of soldiers and the hired help necessary to carry out the assigned task.  These, so it were  as well as many others who were either already amongst the faithful or like the Centurion coming into the faith were the object of Christ’s forgiveness.  Remember; let no one forget for a moment that this was a Divine voice which whispered the merciful blessing of God’s forgiveness upon those who were learning just who Jesus Christ really and truly was.  It was enough of a witness for at least two people that long Friday afternoon so many years ago?  Is it so amazing to consider for us this morning in our time  that the forgiveness of God could be granted to the very authority: who followed orders and did the bloody work required of him?  I am of the opinion that we will have much to learn of a more popular humanitarianism as we follow up with the Iraqi authorities who are captured and held accountable for their deeds of many years.  The empathy, mercy and grace of the Lord on the cross in His hours of suffering are amazing in the grace granted and from it may we learn even as did the Centurion himself.

2.  We continue in the Gospel of Luke and move forward a few verses to consider the witness of Christ to another individual on the scene.  (Luke 23: 42-43) “And [the second thief] said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

We are all familiar with the reported conversation amongst the three nailed to crosses and raised up in the intense heat of the afternoon. One of the thieves disparages the cause of Christ and repeats the scorn of many.  “Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us!”  (Matthew 23: 39) Immediately the second thief rebuked his fellow criminal and witnesses to the fact that the crucifixion of Christ is not an act sanctioned by lawful accords of due process and legality.  “This man has done nothing wrong,” (Matthew 23: 41) he exclaims.

I man well note here that it is not uncommon for the criminal class to have a better understanding of laws, legalities and such  than the common crowd!  After all  these are the experts who have made a career of learning the ins and outs of jurisprudence.  When I was teaching  I was very often corrected in my legal ruminations by experts who had extensive experience in the matter as well as a host of expensive legal advice on how to survive encounters in the courts of the state.  One young man that I met  continually lamented having to be in school since there were so many unprotected homes out there where people were at work and he only had sixteen weeks before he turned eighteen to take advantage of that fact!

We also know from reports out of prison that even the career criminals know the difference between crimes against property and those against persons.  After all  known child abusers have a greater statistical rate of being murdered in prison than any other group that is incarcerated!  And so, this one criminal castigates his wily and more jaded brother and defends the cause of Christ.  Probably having heard of Jesus and now seeing Him in the flesh  He seeks the greater mercy of the Lord and Father of all mankind, knowing that he justly deserves the death immediately before him.  Knowing the heart of the man sharing the spotlight of the moment:  Jesus declares the grace and mercy of the Father:  “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Forgiveness from the very heart of God is to be his in these last moments of his life.  By contrast, the Centurion and many others have longer lives to life and many people to tell of the glorious happenings implicit in this moment.  And yet, even in the physical strain and pain of the moment, our Lord and Savior does not forget for even a moment why He came and why He hangs momentarily between heaven and hell.

3.  For our third word this morning, we turn to the Gospel of John (19: 26-27) “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’  And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

By Jewish law and custom, we may know from this verse that Joseph, the apparent and legal father of Jesus  had passed away at an earlier date.  Thereafter, Jesus had assumed the responsibility for her care and support.  How wonderful and appropriate it is that in these hours of trial: he remembers to pass along that inherited responsibility to the Apostle John.  It was enough for these words to pass and Mary’s future so easily assured.  We have to remember that these were much simpler times and that the modern nation-state with its all encompassing grasp on everyone’s resources was providentially several millennia in the future!  We may rest assured that whatever resources His earthly father had left were devoted to her support and tender care.  The family fortune was not drawn down to sustain the ministry of Christ unnecessarily.  We do know that there were many supporters who took up the financial support of Jesus and His three year ministry.  No doubt, the mother of Jesus contributed her fair share.  However, her well being was not neglected  even in such a dire time as that last afternoon on the cross. 

4.  With this responsibility being met, we may move on to the more personal aspects of those last hours of suffering.  A fourth word may be found in (Matthew 27: 46) “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthania?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

It is here that many scholars belief that Jesus in His agony draws words from Psalm 22.  It is a Psalm which may name “The Psalm of the Cross.”  One only has to read through it to sense a preview from almost a millennia before of the final hours of David’s greater Son!  The words in question are the opening words of that Psalm.  We have only to read that psalm to appreciate the agony of the moment.  The prophetic agony of David’s words measures the final hours of the life of Christ.

There in all its prophetic glory, the Psalm records the mind of our Lord and Savior.  There is doubt, fear and agony, but there is also promise hope and providence there as well.  The mockers in the crowd were already known and the very insult of the worldly thief is there engraved in the heart of David.  The life of our Lord flashes before His eyes even as David recounts the journey from birth to death.  There in verse fourteen is the heart-failure which many doctors believe caused the death of Jesus.  A broken heart they sometimes call it.  We know from the night before that Jesus literally sweated blood  an indication of the grief and suffering that he would experience.  The dust and heat of the afternoon dry out his mouth and David describes the worldly “dogs” who look upon Him.  Even the piercing is described and the gambling for His clothing is all there.

Then there is groundswell of the call to glory and the deliverance of His soul from the wicked and the promise that He shall soon testify amongst the living that the Father is faithful, not only to His only Son but to all the seed of Abraham’s race as well.  In this psalm the Lord looks on to the glorious future of His kingly reign and there in the posterity of those who shall serve the Father, we are named to witness to what we have learned even as did the pagan Centurion in that afternoon.

5.  But before we come to the end of the glorious Psalm of the Cross, there is a pause the in the quiet meditation in the midst of agony.  Probably about half way through it the indications of text are accurate.  The fifth word is simple and straight forward enough and we read it from (John 19: 28) “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’”

Where does The New Geneva Bible refer us back from this verse: our Psalm of the Cross, of course!  Those gathered around the cross take this to mean a desire for refreshing moisture.  And so He is offered a bitter drink to numb the pain as well as to satisfy the parched throat of His ongoing agony.  There is more of course going on that this alone.  A thirst to do the will of God  is just as viable a thirst as any other in this moment of moments.  John quickly draws things to an end here in the following verses, while others report another remark as well.

6.  Again, we turn to the Gospel of (John 19: 30) to read:  “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”  One only has to look back at the end of Psalm 22 to see what was on the mind of our Lord in these last moments.  Many commentators observe that these words “It is finished” are not unlike the victory shout of runners in a race.  Certainly, Jesus was in no place to raise His hands and exult in the moment of victory  but one cannot imagine Him in any other mind
than this because of the last word reported by Luke.

7. “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’” (Luke 23: 46)  Do you see the confidence in those words?  On several occasions I have talked with those who found loved ones who had passed away moments before.  One was a neighbor who died upstairs while the family was down stairs.  They heard his body roll off of the bed and when they went up to rescue him, he was cringed in fear trying to hold off something or other he had sensed in his last moments.  I was glad they did not tell me about that until after the funeral.

There is nothing but serenity in these last moments.  There is confidence that all the promises recorded in Psalm 22 will be fulfilled and Jesus, the Lord’s own Son has gained strength from David’s words to commend all that He is, was and will be into the kind and loving hands of a faithful loving Father God.

Application:  The last words recorded by those present are also Psalm based, being the fifth verse of Psalm 31.  It remained for Jesus to add only one word at the beginning:  “Father”!  This verse is one taught by Jewish mothers in the Old Covenant Church to their children as a nightly prayer.  “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”  It is not too far from there to the New Covenant practice in the old children’s prayer:  “Now I lay me down to sleep … I pray the Lord my soul to keep.”

If you go back and look at that fifth verse, the final colon is one that commends much to us in the work of Christ which was finished on the cross: “You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”  This is the work accomplished by Christ, and we have only to consider these seven words to see the focus of His life and ministry.  If I may be so bold to summarize what we should learn from this survey, it is this:

1.      There is salvation in the work of Christ.
2.      There is a love for the family of God, mother, brother and all who are adopted into the familial   relationship down through the ages.
3.      In times of trouble the psalms and prayer show us the mind of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and just as Jesus may draw strength from His Father’s words  so may we.
4.      The work of salvation has been accomplished in and through Jesus Christ; we have nothing to add but our faithful devotion, loyalty and thanksgiving.
5.      If we believe the Resurrection reports  we have only to commit our own spirits to the kind and loving mercy and care of the same God who was trusted unto death by the Son given for us.

If we can commit our hearts and minds to those things, than like the thief on the cross, we too may know the joys and wonders of paradise when our time comes to go to Him.  May such a joyful confidence be yours today and always.  Amen.

Good Friday 1972 & 1973
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