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Praying in an Epidemic

Every day my Facebook account brings me reminders to pray, biblical prayer promises, and some heart-wrenching prayer requests. The worldwide virus pandemic has become a call to prayer for many people.

How are we to pray in such a disruption? We find ourselves praying for protection for medical professionals and for first-responders. We pray for healing for those afflicted with the coronavirus. We pray for an end to the plague and for the speedy development of effective vaccines.

It does us good to pray. Prayer is an acknowledgement that we are not, after all, in control. It keeps us in our place. It seeks the will of God in our own lives and in the lives of others. It recognizes God’s authority in all circumstances of life.

The story of Jabez illustrates this. He was one of those obscure personalities tucked away in a long genealogical list in the Old Testament. There is a short historical notation about him that stands out: he is noted for his prayer.

“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

We are told little about Jabez. His brief story is found in the family history of the tribe of Judah and the allocation of their inheritance in the Promised Land. His immediate family ties are obscure, but we are told that his mother bore him in pain. Thus he was given a name which means, “he causes pain.” How would you like to be introduced with that name on your first day of school? This was, apparently, a bad omen from which he wanted to be freed.

We can learn from the prayer of Jabez. For one thing, it was bold. Jabez dared to ask God for a personal blessing. The Bible encourages us to “approach God with freedom and confidence” through Christ (Ephesians 3:12). “Ask,” promised Jesus, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). There was a sense of bold urgency in the plea, “Oh that you would bless me!” When we pray this way in the name of Jesus, we will pray as Jesus prayed: “Your will be done.”

We are living through a time of pain and sadness. What are your needs? Healing? Protection? Financial provision? Boldly commit them to God the way Jabez did.

Also, the prayer was specific. Jabez asked God to enlarge his territory. He was asking the Lord to increase his usefulness, responsibility, and productivity. If we want this for selfish reasons, at the expense of others, it’s wrong (James 4:3-4). But if we ask God to enlarge our resources and influence to bless others, it’s a good thing. Lately we have all been hearing stories of neighbors helping neighbors, and people sacrificing for the greater good. They are being blessed in order to be a blessing.

This reminds  us to be specific in our praying:  confessing sin, giving thanks, interceding for others, and in asking God to make us fruitful in his service in this world. He knows what we want before we ask. But it pleasures him when we are transparently honest in our praying.

I am impressed by something else. Jabez was seeking God’s direct  involvement in his life. “Let your hand be with me,” he prayed. This was a familiar Hebrew idiom referring to God’s strength and presence. (See how the Lord’s “hand” was with Elisha in 2 Kings 3:15 and with the Christians in Antioch in Acts 11:21.) Jabez knew God’s purpose in his life could only be accomplished through God’s strength. 

Our present circumstances may be baffling, inconvenient and complicated. We need now, more than ever, God’s direct involvement and his strength.

The name “Jabez” was a daily reminder to him of pain and misery. We are being reminded of the same things every day. He prayed that he would be spared. Did his prayer also imply that he didn’t want to inflict pain on others? Perhaps. These are prayers we can pray in an epidemic.

The Bible tells us that he was honorable, more honorable than his contemporaries. Surely this was because he cried out to God in bold dependency. What would happen in America if believers cried out to God as Jabez did, boldly and specifically, for God’s powerful intervention in this present crisis?

Matthew Henry observed that in his prayer, Jabez was devoting himself completely to God. It was as if he was giving God a blank sheet of paper letting him write on it whatever he pleased. “Lord if you will bless me, do with me whatever you will. I will be at your command and disposal forever.”

“And God granted his request.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Ways of Thinking About Tragedy

Ways of Thinking About Tragedy

Sunday will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. No resident of this town can forget where they were at the moment this awful event occurred. 168 people lost their lives, 19 of the little children. Over 500 people were injured. 30 children were orphaned. 219 were left with one parent.

For the last several months, local media have been offering daily tributes to those who were killed and injured, to firefighters, police, volunteers, to doctors, nurses, and EMTs, and to community leaders.

Friends of mine, Dr. Charles and Jean Hurlburt, respected members of the medical community, died in the blast. Another friend, Robin Jones, wrote a book, Where Was God at 9:02 A. M.? published by Thomas Nelson. The Rev. Billy Graham and President Bill Clinton spoke in a memorial service attended by thousands a week after the bombing.

The perpetrators, convicted on multiple counts of murder and conspiracy, were Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. This was considered to be the worst act of domestic terrorism on American soil before 9/11, and it was carried out by American citizens.

In remembrance, I have been re-reading the commemorative volume, In Their Name, commissioned by Governor and Mrs. Frank Keating. It has reminded me of the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament. Lamentations were written to mourn one of the most wrenching tragedies in the history of Israel, the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army.

The author was an eyewitness to the slaughter of civilians and soldiers, the destruction of the city walls, the mass deportation of survivors, and the desecration and destruction of the Temple of the Lord, built by King Solomon. Into his writings he poured his personal anguish, describing the depth of his nation’s suffering. Tradition tells us the book was written by Jeremiah, “the weeping prophet.”

The author was inspired to write a dark epic poem that Christopher Wright has called, “the powerful poetry of grief.” It gives us ways to think about tragedy. It is well suited for what our nation is confronting now as we face the deaths of thousands of our fellow-citizens and the sufferings of thousands more in the Coronavirus plague. Here are some lessons learned from reading Lamentations.

1. Express your grief. The author of Lamentations described the horrors he had witnessed. He did not hold back. He told us how he felt about the tragedies he had seen. He complained to God, who in judgment on his people Israel, was letting them bear the consequences for their sins. He said he felt cut off from God (3:8).

2. Confess your sins. Confession is always appropriate. This is especially true in times of trouble. Tragedy has a way of turning our attention from the trivial to the eternal. As we seek God (3:25), we discover the need to examine ourselves (3:40), and honestly confess the ways we have offended him (3:37-42; 4:12-13; 5:7).

3. Recognize God’s sovereignty. The writer never gave the impression that the overthrow of Jerusalem was a meaningless accident of history. He did not imply that God was powerless to prevent it. Rather, he bluntly stated that God not only knew what was going to happen, He permitted it to happen. See if you don’t come to the same difficult conclusion as you read Lamentations 2:1-8, 2:17 and 4:11-17.

4. Remember God’s mercy. The centerpiece of the book is a profound declaration of God’s great faithfulness to his covenant people (3:22-23). This cuts like a laser through darkness and hopelessness. While his holiness requires letting sin’s consequences run their course, God’s love shines through. We are told that no matter what happens (3:38), God is good and his judgments are righteous (3:25). His love reaches us under the rubble.

5. Patiently wait for God. We should be careful about making glib pronouncements about matters beyond our understanding. Sometimes it is best to sit in silence and think about God (3:28). A time of waiting can teach us that God has a plan for our lives. That is why “we are not consumed” (3:22). It teaches us to examine ourselves and repent of our sins ((3:40). A time of patient waiting shows how the Lord rewards those who seek him (3:25; Hebrews 11:6).

On Sunday, April 19, I intend to read Lamentations again. I will think of the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. I may do some lamenting of my own as I think about the thousands now who are dying in our nation and our world. I will pray for those who are suffering the effects of COVID-19 and for their families and caregivers.

And I will try to remember some of the lessons of Lamentations: to express grief and to ask God to give me greater empathy for others; to examine myself and confess my sins; to remember that though God does not take pleasure in the suffering of his people (3:33), he has a purpose in what he allows to happen, and his purposes are good. He has slowed me down. He has stymied the nation. Maybe one reason is so we will draw near to him (3:24).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Last Words from the Cross

When Jesus called out from the cross, “It is finished,” he was saying farewell to earth. When he said to God, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), it was an entrance greeting to heaven. His spirit was to be separated from his body. He had assurance of his spirit’s continuance apart from the body. Those who are in Christ may have that same assurance now.

His death was an act of his will. Yes, he was killed by wicked people (Acts 2:23). But in a deeper sense his death was purely voluntary. Neither Judas, nor Caiaphas, nor Pilate, nor the soldiers took his life from him. “He gave his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). No human power could have touched him unless he permitted it. Only when he declared that the appointed time had come, did he allow his enemies to arrest him (John 12:23).

He had said to his disciples, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:17-18).

This tells us of the Son of God’s complete agreement with and submission to the Father’s eternal plan of redemption. For this the Father loves him. Jesus will give resurrection life to those who believe in him. But in order to do that he must experience it himself. To be raised from death, he must first die. His resurrection must be preceded by his death. This was the Father’s loving purpose for his obedient Son.

This was not a form of suicide, nor a martyr complex, nor fatalistic resignation. This was his authority to terminate his physical life, and then to resume that physical life in the resurrection. Only the Son of God has that authority. In this he exercised his power over death, to make possible our deliverance from the power of death.

So he “cried out again with a loud voice” (Matthew 27:50), “bowed his head” (John 19:30), and committed his spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46). In one moment he lost consciousness of the terrible scene in front of him and was immediately conscious of being in Paradise, in the presence of the Father. His body was taken down from the cross to be buried by the hands of humans. His spirit was taken into the loving hands of the Father in heaven.

This helps explain the Lord’s earlier words to his disciples, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father” (John 16:28). If you and I believe in this Jesus, his word proves as true for us as for them, “The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (John 16:27).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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“It Is Finished!”

Victims of crucifixion usually died exhausted and unconscious. The New Testament tells us that before he died, Jesus summoned the strength for a loud cry (Mark 15:37). This was unusual for a man dying on a cross after many hours of torture.

His final shout was a cry of victory over the powers of darkness: “It is finished!” He was saying that he had accomplished what he had been sent to earth to do. In this sixth statement from the cross (John 19:30), Jesus again alluded to the twenty-second psalm, a prophecy of his sacrificial death: “He has done it!” (Psalm 22:31).

What did he accomplish in his dying? He accomplished “everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man” (Luke 18:31; 1 Peter 1:11). He accomplished the requirements of God’s law. He was born and lived under the law, he fulfilled the law in his perfect life, and he bore the curse of the law in his death (Galatians 2:21, 3:13, 4:4). With perfect obedience he accomplished the purpose of the Father (John 17:4).

The Hebrew prophets, writing hundreds of years earlier, tell us that his death on the cross would be to “atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness” and that “the Anointed One (Messiah) will be put to death and will have nothing” (Daniel 9:24, 26). “They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He (God in Christ) has done it!” (Psalm 22:31). That is what he meant when he said, “It is finished!”

He was speaking to the Father in heaven: ” I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). He was speaking to those who  would make up that growing worldwide congregation of believers throughout history: “I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you” (Psalm 22:22). He was speaking to himself: “After he (God’s Lamb) has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53 :11).

The word “finished,” in the Greek language implies completed action with a continuous result. It has finality. The work of salvation is accomplished; the price of redemption is paid in full. This word was used in first century marketplaces where goods were bought and sold. A seller would write a receipt for a completed transaction with this word which means “paid in full.”

Rudolf Stier wrote, There is nothing lying beyond the reach of this word. … Here is the center of the history of the world.” Nothing can be added to what Jesus accomplished to secure salvation for all who believe in him. “He has done it! It is finished!”

In his book, The Cross of Christ, John R.W. Stott wrote: “The loud shout of victory, is in the gospel text the single word tetelestai. Being in the perfect tense, it means ‘it has been and will forever remain finished.’ We note the achievement Jesus claimed just before he died. It is not men who have finished their brutal deed; it is he who accomplished what he came into the world to do. He has borne the sins of the world. Deliberately, freely and in perfect love he has endured the judgment in our place. He has procured salvation for us, established a new covenant between God and humankind, and made available the chief covenant blessing, the forgiveness of sins.”

Amen.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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“I Am Thirsty”

You understand thirst. You have felt thirsty. Have you ever experienced a burning thirst, a fearful life-or-death thirst, a dangerous thirst? Long distance hikers know the dangers of dehydration and the importance of locating water sources. They carry filtration systems for purifying water from streams, ponds or springs along the trail.

The fifth word of Christ from the cross came near the end when he said, “I am thirsty.” He knew that everything was about to be accomplished (John 19:28). He had been suffering the judgment of God for sin. This was to make possible our deliverance from the penalty for our sins. He identified with humanity in another way we all understand: “I am thirsty.”

Jesus had been hanging on the cross since 9:00 in the morning. It was nearing 3 pm. His physical sufferings were unspeakable. They were compounded by a burning thirst. He gave voice to a physical need. He had this is common with all humanity as before when he experienced temptation, fatigue, sorrow, hunger and righteous anger. In thirst, common to all people, Jesus understood how it felt to be human.

The “I” in this statement opens another window on the person of the Savior. It is a reminder that this dying, thirsting man on the cross was also God in his very nature. Repeatedly in John’s gospel, our Lord Jesus identified himself as the “I AM,” who had boldly declared, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10). John purposefully selected seven statements from the discourses of Jesus to affirm his divine authority: I am the Bread of Life, I am the Light of the World, I am the Gate, I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Resurrection and the Life, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the True Vine.

Then in John 8:58 he said, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” Not “I was,” but “I am” the eternal One, the self-existent One (Exodus 3:14; John 1:1). Jesus, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” ( Philippians 2:6-8).

Think of it! The one who “was with God in the beginning” and through whom “all things were made” (John 1:2-3) inhabited and was dependent upon the creation he himself had brought into existence. The one who created the springs, rivers and aquifers to slake the thirst of living creatures; the one who sent the seasonal rains to water thirsty crops, to provide abundant harvests; the one who covered three-fourths of the surface of this planet with water to dissipate the heat of the sun and to make the earth habitable — this mighty creator humbled himself to die on a cross and before he died he said, “I am thirsty.”

The historic teaching of the Christian gospel is that Jesus is both human and divine, God and man in one person. Because he was man, he was able to bear our sins. Because he was God, his sacrifice was perfect. Because of his perfect sacrifice he is able to bring believers to Paradise. Let us say to Jesus, as Thomas did, with reverence and gratitude, “My Lord and my God!”( John 20:28).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

 

 

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The God-forsaken Savior

It has been called the “cry of dereliction” or of “desolation.” Amid the unnatural darkness that fell over his crucifixion, Jesus cried out in the language of his people, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). He was quoting scripture, Psalm 22:1. It was a prophecy being fulfilled.

Angels had supported Jesus when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. They helped him as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. The New Testament tells us a voice from heaven spoke approvingly of him on several occasions.

But on the cross no angels attended him. There was no voice saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). Instead there was the pall of darkness at noon and the consciousness of being abandoned.

Jesus’ cry was not one of unbelief, despair or cowardice. At the last Supper and in Gethsemane Jesus had expressed his intention to  fulfill the Father’s will through his death. He had repeatedly predicted to his disciples the death he would die in Jerusalem. This cry of dereliction was a fulfillment of another prophetic word: “We considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4).

J.C. Ryle of England explained it this way, “There is a deep mystery in these words which no one can fathom. They express the real pressure on his soul of the enormous burden of the world’s sin.” His suffering was not merely physical, but spiritual. He was forsaken by God because he was bearing our sin.

The famous hymn of Isaac Watts describes it: “Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in/ when Christ the mighty Maker died for man the creature’s sin.” This is Jesus becoming a curse for us to redeem us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). Until then, he could always say, “My Father is with me” (John 16:32). But now he is absolutely alone, abandoned, forsaken.

Why? Because “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). In suffering the abandonment of the Father, Jesus endured the very sufferings of hell. “God made him who knew no sin to be made sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Yet despite the desolation, we recognize his belief that the essential unity of the Trinity was not broken. Jesus never lost the knowledge that God was his God. Fellowship was broken by our sin, but not his relationship. Not long after these dreadful words were spoken, Jesus would call God his Father again, praying, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

This season of the year is an annual reminder of what our Lord endured for us in dying for our sins. As we meditate on his words from the cross, let us humble ourselves in grateful worship, deep faith and confident witness. He was forsaken so that we might be accepted. This is good news.

Years ago I wrote these lines: “How the glory once was muted/ when upon a tree, accursed/ in the terror of earth’s darkness/ Jesus took God’s wrath for us.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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“Here is Your Mother”

Compounding the agonies of dying by crucifixion, was the sorrow Jesus felt for his sorrowing mother. The tenderness of his care for her contrasts with the savage brutality of the scene. The gospel of John gives us our Lord’s third statement from the cross. “He said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother'” (John 19:27).

Think of the bravery of Mary, following the mob to Calvary, standing at the foot of the cross, watching her son being shamed and tortured. We can only imagine the depth of her anguish as she endured the mockery and hatred directed at Jesus. Surely this was a fulfillment of the prophecy of the aged Simeon, who, in Jesus’ infancy, had said to Mary, “A sword will pierce your own soul” (Luke 2:35).

The unnamed disciple is “the disciple whom he loved,” universally understood to be the writer of this story. The apostle John was a son of Zebedee, who owned a fishing business in Galilee. His mother may have been Salome, a sister of Mary. If this is true, then John was Jesus’ cousin. (See Mark 1:20, 15:40; Matthew 27:46; John 19:25.) This may help explain why the Lord entrusted the care of his mother to her nephew. John was familiar to her, staying with her now, supporting her in her grief. It is clear that the Lord Jesus was asking John to care for her as he would his own mother.

John 19:27 says John “took her to his own home.” The inference is that he took her away immediately to a dwelling he maintained in Jerusalem. We know Mary stayed in Jerusalem for many weeks after this because  later we find her in the upper room praying with the other disciples (Acts 1:14). The scriptures are silent about her remaining years. Did she return to Galilee? Did she accompany the apostle John to Ephesus, where tradition tells us he concluded his ministry?

The fact that Jesus did not entrust her to other family members is probably due to the fact that his half-brothers did not believe in him at this time. Yes, Jesus had brothers and sisters who were born to Joseph and Mary after he, the “firstborn son,” was born (Luke 2:7; Matthew 1:25). The scripture says that at first his natural brothers did not believe in him (Mark 6:3-4; John 7:5). After his resurrection, however, they became believers and joined the other disciples (Acts 1:14).

Jesus addressed her as “woman.” The expression may be close to the British “my lady,” or the common American “ma’am.” This is not the only time our Lord spoke to his mother this way (John 2:4). Devout Bible students have come to the conclusion that when Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit to begin his public ministry, something changed in his formal relationship to his mother. He was now committed to the work his Father in heaven had given him to do  (Matthew 12:46). He was carrying out his role as Messiah.

The emotional distance implied in this form of address meant that she must hereafter be subservient to him as Savior and Lord. This implies no disrespect toward his mother. But it indicates his recognition that she is now to be numbered among his followers. The mother/son relationship is now woman/Lord.

It was a great honor to John that Jesus trusted him for this sacred duty. It is a testimony to his loyal love. No doubt John considered it a privilege to serve his Lord by caring for his mother for the rest of her life.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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“With Me in Paradise”

Grace. Mercy. Acceptance. These come to mind as we read the words of the dying Savior to the thief on the cross next to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus’ words were in reply to the man’s prayer, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

You know the details of the story. Here was a dying man in agony of body and soul. He was a condemned criminal experiencing the cruelest form of Roman retribution, execution by crucifixion. The scene is a cacophony of mockery, cursing, shrieks of pain and groans of mourning. Amid the confusion, he has a moment of clarity: “Jesus, remember me.”

Luke’s gospel (23:40-43) tells us he feared God, acknowledged his guilt, and recognized the kingly authority of Jesus. A skeptic might dismiss this as a desperate man’s dying delusion. But seen in contrast to the  other thief’s obstinate rejection of Jesus, his plea for salvation is familiar to all who have faith in Jesus. He had faith, and it was faith alone that brought forth the Lord’s promise of life beyond death.

We do not know much about Paradise. In ancient history it was a word for a beautiful garden. In the Bible, Paradise is a synonym for heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4; Revelation 2:7).

Nor are we told much about the intermediate state of souls between death and resurrection. Jesus gives us this certainty: the spirits of the redeemed enter into conscious and happy fellowship with him. “Today,” tells us it is immediate.  “With me,” tells us that it is his presence that makes Paradise a state of blessedness. (John 12:26. 14:3, 17:24). “To depart and be with Christ … is better by far” (Philippians 1:23).

The dying thief had no opportunity to do good deeds. He did not benefit from any ceremony of religion. He could not make restitution for his sins. All he could do was ask, “Jesus, remember me!” And the Lord did.

Jesus’ second statement from the cross is a word for us. No matter who we are or what we have done, Jesus offers grace, mercy and acceptance. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). This is a word of assurance that death, for a  believer, is not the end of life.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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“Father, Forgive Them…”

We might be tempted to wonder, Why a sacrifice? Couldn’t God simply forgive sins without requiring the death of Christ? After all, God is love and it is his nature to forgive. Why was the cross a necessity?

An answer may be found in the first statement of the dying savior from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).  We cannot understand, any more than Jesus’ tormentors could, the depth of our sin or the height of God’s holiness. If we did, we would more fully understand the necessity of Jesus’ sacrifice as an atonement for sin.

A reading of the crucifixion narratives in the four gospels arouses our amazement. Jesus offered no resistance during his arrest, unjust trials, savage flogging, public mocking, and torturous crucifixion. We hear no cry for revenge. There is only empathy: “They do not know what they are doing.”

This fact did not relieve them of responsibility, however. Their ignorance was willful ignorance. They rejected him in the face of the overwhelming evidence that he was the divine Son of God. It was lazy ignorance, the apathy of indifference to the truth that he preached. It was blind ignorance because “they loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

It is the same for us. We are responsible for our sins, even those of which we are not aware. We must recognize that we, too, are guilty of sin (Romans 3:9-20). If not the same sins as of those who crucified our Lord, they are sins that are equally offensive to God’s righteous nature and holy law. His perfection requires the satisfaction of a perfect sacrifice in order for forgiveness to be possible. He must be true to himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

“He was numbered with the transgressors,” Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 53:12). It is noticeable, then, that Jesus prayed for their forgiveness as he was dying on the cross. It was his death on the cross that accomplished satisfaction. It was on the basis of his sacrifice that Jesus was asking the Father in heaven to withhold his wrath. Yes, God is love, and he is willing to forgive sins. But his love is a holy love. His holy nature requires satisfaction (1 John 2:2).

Their forgiveness depended upon their response to Jesus’ sacrifice. One of the hardened Roman officers at the scene confessed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54). Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish high council, had “become a disciple of Jesus” (Matthew 27:57). The faithful women disciples who had followed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry mourned his death amid the mockers at the foot of the cross.

This precious word, “forgive,” means to remove, to send away, to release from a debt. It refers to restoration of a relationship that is broken by sin. It involves two parties, the one offended, and the offender. There must be a granting and an acceptance of forgiveness. This acceptance involves confession and confession involves a change of outlook toward sin. This is called repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).

What about those who deny their moral responsibility and who refuse to acknowledge their sin? Are they covered by Jesus’ prayer from the cross? Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus was not forgiven. Jesus said of him it would have been better if he had not been born (Mark 14:21). Caiaphas and his co-conspirators thought it would have been better for Jesus to die than for them to lose their political influence (John 11:49-53). They remained embittered toward Jesus and his followers (Acts 4:5-7). The criminal dying at Jesus’ left side joined the chorus of willful defiance against Jesus (Mark 15:27-32; Luke 23:39). These who rejected Jesus then represent all who now exempt themselves from the benefits of his prayer for God’s forgiveness.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” shows us the compassion of the Lord Jesus, even toward those who reject him. It shows us God’s willingness to forgive those who confess their sin and trust in his Son. It shows us that forgiveness before a holy God is available for all who believe the message of the cross: “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Seven Words of Love

In 1986 the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article detailing the likely physiological and psychological effects of the crucifixion of Jesus. In 2004 Mel Gibson produced “The Passion of the Christ,” a movie that graphically portrayed the extremity of the Lord’s agony. Yet the descriptions we have in the gospels seem relatively unemotional when compared to the violence and terror of the actual event.

We are approaching the time of year when Christians are called again to contemplate the cross and its significance. The writers of the New Testament must have felt a deep reverence and devotion as they described the crucifixion. But they were remarkably restrained.

To be sure, they reveal much in their telling of the scenes of mockery, flogging, hardened soldiers, condemned criminals, thorns, nails, and spear. But there is no lurid sensationalism or cheap emotionalism. Instead, their purpose is instructive, not merely descriptive. The writers want us to see beyond the physical horrors of the crucifixion to something deeper, its spiritual meaning and purpose.

This is evident in the recorded words of Christ from the cross. Students of scripture have always found in these statements a revelation of the divine-human nature of the Lord Jesus, and of the value of his finished work of redemption. For this reason, I invite you to join me in meditating on the “Seven Last Words of Christ” during the coming weeks.

I hope a re-reading of these seven words of love will attract us to the dying Savior. This was his intention. He said, “And I if I am lifted up from the earth, “will draw all people to  myself.” “He said this,” the apostle John reports, “to show the kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:32-33). 

This is the universal attraction of the gospel. It is for people of every nationality, economic status, and ethnic identity. People of all cultures can identify with the emotional, relational, physical and spiritual states reflected in our Lord’s seven words from the cross.

Beginning next Friday, in this space, we will contemplate his prayer for his tormentors, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). This will be followed by an examination of his promise to the criminal on the cross next to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

“Woman, here is your son,” spoken to Mary, and to the apostle John, “Here is your mother” (John 19:26-27), provided an earthly home for his mother, whom he entrusted to that beloved disciple who stayed with Jesus until he died.

The words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) take us into the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the meaning of Christ’s sacrificial death. “I am thirsty” (John 19:28) is a stark reminder of the Lord’s humanity and his identification with the rest of humanity.

The final words are rich in spiritual and theological significance. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” ( Luke 23:46) and “It is finished” (John 19:30), remind us that the Lord Jesus gave his life voluntarily to pay the debt for the sins of the world. This is the teaching of the New Testament.

Whether or not you were brought up in a church that observed the liturgical practices of the Christian year (I was not), it can be spiritually edifying to use the weeks between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday as a season of preparation. To meditate on the Lord’s death, remembering what he endured on the cross. To give thanks for his sacrifice. To worship the One who came to draw us to himself for salvation. To repent of our sins and deepen our faith in him.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner

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