Jesus' Suffering on the Cross: Understanding the Unseen

The origin and development of Easter is unclear, but it's a celebration of Jesus' resurrection.

Easter is celebrated by Christians and Jews, but its original meaning has been lost over time.

Jesus' suffering on the cross was a crucial part of his mission to save humanity.

The Roman scourging was a brutal torture method used on Jesus, causing severe lacerations and pain.

The The title of this message today is called The Climax of Jesus' Suffering on the Cross is Unbeknown to Us. In keeping with the season celebrated by both Christians and Jews, we see that Easter is translated as Pesha and celebrated as a Passover Jewish feast. And for Christians, it is celebrated as an Easter feast. Easter, or Pesha, is an annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The precise origin and development of the celebration of Easter remains obscure, though it is likely that the early church annually celebrated the event of Christ's resurrection as a parallel to the Jewish Passover celebration. The Gospels relate that it was during Passover season that Christ died and rose from the dead. In the Greek Orthodox Church, greet one another on Easter with the words, Christ is risen, to which they receive the response, He is risen indeed. The Orthodox celebrate Saturday evening with a candlelight procession outside the church. On entering the church, the pealing of bells marks the beginning of Easter morning prayer, which is followed by the Eucharist. In America, evangelicals and other Protestant churches frequently hold Easter sunrise services in addition to their regular service. Those early morning gatherings are usually held outdoors in a park setting. Larger ecumenical gatherings may be hosted by a local ministerial association and are held in open stadiums or other large outdoor gathering places. These services included the joyous singing of hymns celebrating the resurrection. The reading of the resurrection account from one of the gospels, prayers, and preaching. Easter is also an occasion for wearing new clothes and a traditional time for the extended family to gather and share a meal, typically including a ham. With the growth of religious pluralism and secularism in the American culture, parts of the original pagan celebration, such as the fertility symbol such as eggs and rabbits, have provided a popular alternative theme of the celebration. The celebration of Easter has become a secular occasion, and the world is joined in by calling it a spring celebration. Nevertheless, dear listener, whether Christian or Jewish, or even Christian believers who do not celebrate this time or occasion because of its origin, is not known and is not commanded in scriptures, and also that it was mingled with paganism in symbolism that is with rabbits, which represents fertility, and also with eggs. Dear listener, whatever your belief is on the celebration of Easter or not, as a believer in Jesus Christ. The fact is Jesus Christ died and was resurrected and is alive forevermore. Hallelujah. But the focal point of our Savior's death and his suffering is in the fact that he gave himself to be the pure, innocent Lamb of God for the salvation of all those who would receive him as their Savior, their Lord, and their King. He provided the way for true believers to repent of their sins and live in his righteousness and in his truth, which is found in the pages of the book of life called the Bible. When a believer has the deep revelation of the price that our precious Savior paid to have us belong to his family, There is something supernatural in this divine revelation that goes into the very depth of one's heart that is a deep inward understanding that Jesus Christ died for me personally. and out of this personal understanding a deep love grows for your Savior and an awe of who he truly is in your life makes you want to please him above all else. Jesus' beatings and suffering before and on the cross was like that of no other suffering anyone has ever endured. Remember, he was God called the Word who spoke the world into existence before time began. And he came to set man free from the bondage of slavery to Satan and the devil and his hordes of hell. Looking at the fact, when it started with Pilate, who delivered our Lord to the soldiers to be scourged and beaten, the Roman scourging was the most horrible instrument of torture. It was made of the sinews or the tendons of oxen. Incorporated with the whip were sharp bones, which were intertwined at strategic places among the whip. So every time the whip hit the flesh of our dear Savior, these pieces of bone dug into the skin and opened up horrible lacerations and tore off the flesh from his bones. dear jesus was tied to a column and beaten with a horrible 39 lashes and he had been beaten before and slept and spit in his face but this beating of the roman soldiers was probably the most severe of all of his beatings on the day that our precious lord jesus christ was nailed naked to the cross and suffered from the horrible beatings and poured out his precious blood. And before he died, he spoke seven significant words. There is in these words of our Lord a progression of the will and the purpose of God for the redemption of mankind. In these seven words, our Savior seemed to sum up in themselves the whole gospel. In looking at them, we see the first three were spoken between the third and the sixth hours. That would be between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. And they referred to the forgiveness and fellowship. He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. We'll see that in Luke chapter 23, beginning in verse 32. two others also who were criminals were led away to be executed with him and when they came to the place which was called the skull there they crucified him and along with the other criminals one on the right and one on the left then jesus prayed father forgive them for they know not what they do And they divided his garments and distributed them by casting lots for them Dear ones, we need to pay attention to the forewarnings and the prophecies that were given by the prophets, which declared the coming of the Messiah. This left people at a time without excuse to recognize and honor the king of kings. Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12 the word declares therefore I will divide him a portion with the great kings and rulers and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty because he poured out his life unto death and he let himself be regarded as a criminal and be numbered with the transgressors And yet he bore and took away the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors, the rebellious ones. All of the teachers, Pharisees, and scribes were without excuse when it came to the many miracles and profound teachings and signs and wonders of Jesus when he walked amongst them. It was prophesied in Psalms chapter 22, verse 18. They part my clothing among them and cast locks for my raven, a long shirt-like garment, a seamless undertunic. Jesus looked down from the cross and saw them doing this very thing and going on, and it was a sign to those who refused to believe that he was the Messiah. The chapter in Psalms 3, verses 17 and 18, is a graphic picture of Jesus' death by crucifixion. In verse 14, it speaks about the bones of the hands, the arms, the shoulders, and pelvis, out of joint, causing the profuse perspiration caused by intense suffering and indescribable and inconceivable pain. In verse 14, we see how the action of our Lord's heart was afflicted in strength, exhausted, in extreme thirst, and the hands and the feet were pierced. We see in John chapter 19, verse 28, in relation to Psalms chapter 22, verse 14, where Jesus' heart was affected, and he knew he was close to dying in the grave when he said, After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were finished and ended, he said in fulfillment of the scripture, I thirst. And also in these scriptures, Jesus is suffering as the water and blood was drained from his body. He could not gather himself to resist the onslaught of life being drained from his body. And this is saying that he felt the horrible pain and was incapable of defending himself when the bones became dislocated. His spirit, rather than remaining strong and firm, had melted away like hot wax. He felt the void of energy and likened it as a piece of broken pottery. He was in need of drink as a thirsty person craves water when his mouth is dry. And he concluded that he was almost in the grave, almost dead, because the Lord had not helped him. In Psalms chapter 22, verse 15, he said, you have brought me into the dust of death. Let's take notice in verse 17 that Jesus's partial nudity was with a hurt to his modesty when he declared, I can count all my bones. The evildoers gaze at me. And in Luke chapter 23, verse 35, the people stood by calmly and leisurely, watching. But the rulers scoffed and sneered and turned up their noses at him, saying, He rescued others from death. Let him now rescue himself. If he is the Christ, the Messiah of God, his chosen one. The testilent cry of our Lord in Matthew chapter 27, verse 46. It's a time that periods of light and darkness were occurring. Matthew 27, 46 declares, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And looking up a few verses in verse 39, Jesus endured the contemptuous and humiliating treatment of the heckling bystanders. Matthew chapter 27 beginning in verse 39. And those who passed by spoke reproachfully and abusively by jeering at him and wagging their heads. Verse 40. And they said, You who would tear down the sanctuary and the temple and rebuild it in three days, rescue yourself from death. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Verse 41. In the same way, the chief priests and scribes and elders made sport of him, saying, He rescued others from death. Himself, he cannot rescue death. He is the King of Israel. He is the King of Israel? Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in and acknowledge and cleave to him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now if he cares for him and will have him. For he said, I am the son of God. Verse 44. And the robbers who were crucified with him also abused and reproached and made sport of him in the same way. Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution. It was cruel and inhumane form of death. And the second thing that we look at here in the words that sum up the whole gospel is that Jesus came to forgive sinners. In Luke chapter 19, verse 10, the word declares, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. It is only through Christ's forgiveness that sinners can now make God their father. In John chapter 1, verse 12, the word tells us, But to as many who did receive and welcome him, he gave the authority, the power, the privilege, and the right to become children of God. That is, to those who believe in, adhere to, trust in, and rely on his name. You see, even if the people did not have full recognition of what they were doing, they still needed forgiveness. In Luke chapter 23, verse 43, Jesus was giving assurance to the thief on the cross for the future when he said, Verily I say unto thee, Today you will be with me in paradise. Jesus not only spoke this assurance to the thief on the cross but to all of those who choose him as the hope of glory Jesus was not pacifying the thief when he was telling him after his execution that there will be life after death. Jesus said, you shall be. So we need to understand that to be with Christ is to be in paradise. It implies to be with him in heaven. paradise was a promise only to the thief on the cross not to the other you see repentance is a personal individual decision not all will repent therefore not all will be in paradise or will go to heaven after they die and the third thing that we see in the way that Jesus's words sum up the whole gospel is that he shows a responsibility for family when he said woman behold your son and to john he said behold your mother that is in john chapter 19 verses 26 through 27. You see, although Jesus always put his father's work and his purposes first, he did not neglect his mother in this time. And we see his humanity and love expressed here in caring for the earthly needs of his mother and for one another. And the fourth thing that we see in these words of our Lord that are representing and seem to sum up the whole gospel is that the fourth and the fifth words were spoken in darkness. And that is found in Matthew 27, verse 45. Now from the sixth hour, which is noon, there was darkness all over the land until the ninth hour, which would be three your God. And we can see that even nature in the sense of a description of these words was wrapped in gloom as Jesus, who was God-man, bearing the burden and the curse of sin that was not his own. And what is revealed to us in something here is a mystery of suffering. In Jesus's words, they were words of loneliness when he said my god my god why have you forsaken me and you see we must understand that jesus was no way saying that he regretted his decision to come to this earth to carry out the mission and will in total agreement with his heavenly father and that was to give his life and blood for the redemption of mankind. Dear ones, he was agonizing on the cross. And his agonizing words on the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? These words were expressed in knowing that the time was upon him now that he would be spiritually separated and left alone by his heavenly father. and scripture has shown us that he and his father were one they compromised the family of love dear ones if you have ever been separated from your earthly family and kin someone you love dearly you only felt a slight twinge of the hurt and the pain of separation that jesus felt for his heavenly father. Just a twinge. This is what we felt. This love and family unity cannot even be compared to our human kind of love. It is the ultimate love and unity and oneness. And the fifth words that Jesus spoke upon the cross represent human exhaustion. He said, I thirst. There was a long space of time, a time that an interval between the third and the fourth words. Now darkness reigned or had dominion on Calvary. There were three hours of silence and darkness. Remember, it went dark, completely dark. And this is the climax of our Lord's suffering, the hour and the power of darkness. We do not really know what took place. We do not really know the suffering of our Lord. It's unbeknownst to us. We really do not know what took place. Luke's gospel in chapter 23, beginning in verse 44, tells us, It was now about the sixth hour and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. For the sun stopped shining, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus called out in a long voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. and when he said this he breathed his last and this was the fulfillment of Isaiah 63 verse 3 which says I have trodden the winepress alone and the people and of the people there were none with me how dark these three hours were dear listener and may we somehow faintly gather from the awful cry that escaped from our precious lord's lips at the end of those long hours my god my god why have thou forsaken me it was the only time jesus called his father my god his heavenly father had turned his back on his son because he carried the weight of all sin in human sickness upon himself and the last two words were uttered in the dawn of light and the conflict was over the victory was won they were words of victory jesus christ from the cross announced to the world that all was finished it is finished is declared in john chapter 19 verse 30 and in a word our Lord sums up the whole plan of man's salvation, man's redemption. It is in the word finished. It was a prophecy which had foretold and typed and was foreshadowed. Finished was the work which the Father had given him to do. Jesus looked back on his life from the time when he said, Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 9. And now Jesus is able to say with regard to every job and title of his life's work, it is finished. He made full and perfect and sufficient sacrifice for everyone who would choose him as their hope of glory. Jesus was the offering and God's satisfaction for the sins of the whole world he bridged the gap that separated man from God it is finished are three words that are packed with meaning for what was finished here and not only Christ's earthly life not only his suffering and dying not only the payment for sin and the redemption of the world but every reason and purpose he came to the earth was finished His final act of obedience was complete. Satan had lost his hold on God's people. The scriptures had been fulfilled. And lastly, number seven. because Jesus' work was finished. It is now a time of complete trust in his heavenly father when he said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. He had offered up his life as a perfect sacrifice and placed himself into God's hands. Truly, this is the greatest victory of all for mankind. truly this was one that was a finished work in God's plan of salvation eternal life you see is not cheap and it should not be taken lightly it comes with a high price death was robbed of its sting and because of this word a believer can say with apostle Paul To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Now in concluding, I give a summary of Jesus' last words before he died on the cross. And as much as possible, based on the sequences portrayed in the Gospels, we see these last seven words as they're presented in a chronological order. Jesus speaks to his father. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. In his ministry, Jesus had proven his power to forgive sins. He taught his disciples to forgive both enemies and friends. And now he practiced what he had preached, forgiving his own tortures. And in the midst of his excruciating suffering, the heart of Jesus focused on others rather than himself. and here we see his the nature of his love unconditional divine love and we saw that when he spoke father forgive them for they know not what they do jesus speaks to the criminal on the cross and he said to him in luke chapter 23 verse 43 i tell you the truth today you will be with me in paradise. You see, one of the criminals who was crucified with Christ had recognized who Jesus was and expressed faith in him as a savior. And here we see God's grace poured out through faith as Jesus assured the dying man of his forgiveness and eternal salvation. The thief would not have to even wait as Jesus promised that the man would share an eternal life with Christ in paradise that very day. His faith in Christ secured him an immediate home in God's kingdom. And third, Jesus speaks to Mary and John. In John chapter 19, verses 26 through 27, the scripture tells us, When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Dear woman, here is your son. And to the disciple, he said, Here is your mother. Jesus, looking down from the cross, was still filled with the concerns of a son for the earthly needs of his mother. None of his brothers were there to care for her, so he gave the task to Apostle John. And here we see clearly Christ's humanity and his love expressed for caring for one another. And four, Jesus cries out to the Father. Matthew 27, verse 46. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This was the darkest hour of Christ's suffering when he cried out these words. Although much has been suggested regarding the meaning of this phrase, it was quite apparent the agony that Christ felt was separation from God. And of the fifth one, Jesus is thirsty. In John chapter 19, verse 28, Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the scriptures he said, I am thirsty. He refused to drink the initial drink of vinegar, gall, and myrrh. And in Matthew 27, verse 34, we see that it was offered to alleviate his suffering. But here, several hours later, we see Jesus fulfilling the messianic prophecy found in Psalms, chapter 69, verse 21, which says, They offered me sour wine for my thirst. And the sixth point, it is finished. In John chapter 19, verse 30, Jesus says, it is finished. Jesus knew he was suffering the crucifixion for purpose. Earlier he said, no one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up. This command I received from my father. These three words were packed in meaning, for what was finished here was not only Christ's earthly death and his suffering and dying, not only the payment for sin and redemption of the world, but the very reason that he came to the earth was finished. His final act of obedience was complete. Satan lost his hold on God's people. The scriptures were fulfilled. And the last one here, number seven, Jesus's last words are found in Luke chapter 23, verse 46, which he said and called out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And when he finished saying this, he breathed his last. And here Jesus closes with the words of Psalms chapter 31, verse 5, saying and speaking to God the Father, we see that his last words, I commit into your hands, my Father, my Spirit. Jesus entered death in the same way he lived each day of his life, offering up his life as a perfect sacrifice and placing himself in his Father's hands. Dear one, I ask you, have you truly understood what your precious Savior has done for you personally? Do you or have you seen in your own spirit and understood that he went to the cross and suffered a violent and horrible death on your behalf so that you could have eternal life and live forevermore with him in glorious and wonderful realm called heaven, where you could never fathom or realize the sheer joy and peace while in this body of flesh. Are you doing as the word tells us is to produce fruit in keeping with your repentance? Let us all examine our own hearts and allow the precious Holy Spirit the right to show where we stand in our understanding and commitment to our dear Savior and Heavenly Father. Thank you.

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