Volume No. 2011 Issue No. 13 Date: April 10, 2011
Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706
Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com
The crucifixion event covers about 6 hours. During those 6 hours, the Gospel writers capture seven sayings of Christ – sometimes referred to as “The Seven Last Words”. The first three statements are horizontal in nature, describing Christ's conclusion of His dealings with man-kind. Let me call your attention to these THREE statements:
The Message of Compassion: In John 19:25-27 we read, “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. (26) When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (27) Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
As the Savior looked at these women at the foot of the cross, it was His mother who captured His heart. How it must have intensified His own suffering to see her in such grief. He spoke to her calling her "Woman." He severed the old relationship of mother and son. It signaled a shift in how they were to relate to each other. In John 2:4, He had also called her "Woman" and told her His hour had not yet come. Now that hour was here, and she needed Him to die for her sins as well!
Christ was concerned for this sorrowing woman. In compassion for her loneliness and loss, Jesus turned to John, the only disciple willing to stand with the women at the cross of the Master. It's apparent that Joseph was no longer living by this time, and Jesus' half brothers did not yet believe (though they will). As a result, Christ entrusted Mary to one of His true family members and guaranteed her well-being by giving her to John, the disciple whom He loved.
Of this loving compassion and care, Bible scholar William Barclay writes in his commentary on the gospel of John: "There is something infinitely moving in the fact that Jesus, in the agony of the cross, when the salvation of the world hung in the balance, thought of the loneliness of His mother in the days ahead. Even on the cross, Jesus was thinking more of the sorrows of others than of His own." That's the definition of compassion. In the midst of His intense sufferings, Jesus cared for those He loved, and in so doing concluded His dealings with men. His focus now shifts upward to the purpose behind it all, the awful task of becoming the Lamb of God, the sin-bearing sacrifice for a lost human race.
The Message of Completion: In John 19:30 we read, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” In the Greek the words "It is finished!" is “tetelestai" meaning “it is completed; I have done it!"
The Message of Control: Matthew 27:50 says that Jesus' last words were cried with a loud victory shout!
Jesus' commitment to the Father's plan had been evidenced throughout His earthly ministry, and He had carried that commitment all the way to the end as “he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8 He had done it all! He had left no prophecy unfulfilled, no work unfinished, no love unshared, no suffering unaccomplished. He had completed all the Father had sent Him to do. Then He rested. But it was not the rest of weariness Jesus experienced. It was the rest of fulfillment. He had completed salvation – no more sacrifices were ever to be needed. No human effort would ever be required. As the gift of eternal grace, Jesus had completed salvation, once for all – for all of us.
Jesus' commitment to the Father's plan had been evidenced throughout His earthly ministry, and He had carried that commitment all the way to the end as “he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8 He had done it all! He had left no prophecy unfulfilled, no work unfinished, no love unshared, no suffering unaccomplished. He had completed all the Father had sent Him to do. Then He rested. But it was not the rest of weariness Jesus experienced. It was the rest of fulfillment. He had completed salvation – no more sacrifices were ever to be needed. No human effort would ever be required. As the gift of eternal grace, Jesus had completed salvation, once for all – for all of us.
May your heart this week be enraptured at the cross of Calvary where for our eternal redemption was forever paid by the Lord Jesus Christ.
In His Amazing Grace,
PS: As we have repeatedly said, we will not charge for sending the Weekly SERMON. However there are expenses associated with doing what we do. If possible during 2011, would you please consider helping us in this faith ministry? Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember, for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA. Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to Bible Baptist Ministry 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706 will be applied to this ministry.
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