Preacher Unknown - Good Friday Service Part 3 (April 20, 1962)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
- | The bitter climax of this period of the Christian year, | 0:06 |
which we call passion tide, is now approaching. | 0:13 | |
The last two weeks of the Lenten season, | 0:20 | |
call attention to the passion | 0:24 | |
of our Lord's sacrifice. | 0:30 | |
Passion is a word that literally means, suffering. | 0:34 | |
For 20 centuries, | 0:41 | |
the events of these last days, | 0:44 | |
have been reenacted | 0:48 | |
by means of verbal and musical | 0:51 | |
and visual reminders | 0:56 | |
of a single theme, | 0:59 | |
His blessed passion and precious death. | 1:02 | |
Readings from the entire Bible are called upon, | 1:09 | |
and services held, each day of holy week. | 1:13 | |
Ancient songs or song, | 1:19 | |
a Messiah, presented by our choirs. | 1:23 | |
The Christian world replays its destiny | 1:29 | |
of sacrifice and rebirth, | 1:34 | |
and seeks to emulate an example | 1:38 | |
that is virtually unattainable, except by act of faith. | 1:43 | |
The principle crosses of our churches are veiled | 1:52 | |
as again, an ancient sign of mourning. | 2:00 | |
And as a reminder, | 2:05 | |
that His passion was hidden from the world | 2:07 | |
these centuries ago, even perhaps as it may be today. | 2:11 | |
Palm Sunday has its origin in His triumphal entry | 2:20 | |
into the city of Jerusalem, on a Sunday, | 2:27 | |
before His crucifixion. | 2:31 | |
On Wednesday of holy week, | 2:35 | |
the office of shadows is held | 2:39 | |
wherein the lights gradually extinguished | 2:45 | |
until finally even the Christ light is gone. | 2:50 | |
The triumphal entry is a thing of the past. | 2:58 | |
The blackness of Good Friday is apparent to everyone. | 3:04 | |
Now at this moment, | 3:10 | |
and I've seen with no proper anticipation | 3:12 | |
of the forthcoming message of Easter, | 3:16 | |
we read on still another day of these long 20 centuries, | 3:20 | |
these words, "I thirst." | 3:25 | |
It is very hard for us to understand | 3:32 | |
now the poverty and meanness of those times, | 3:37 | |
and the physical cruelty of crucifixion | 3:44 | |
as a form of legal punishment. | 3:50 | |
The crunch of nails through flesh and bone, | 3:56 | |
the nude bodies weight suspended on its very flesh, | 4:02 | |
the loss of blood, | 4:07 | |
the inhuman triad of care and pain and shock, | 4:10 | |
the cruelty of one human being to another. | 4:16 | |
According to the Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church, | 4:22 | |
crucifixion was abolished by Constantine, | 4:28 | |
sometime between the years of 274 and 337. | 4:33 | |
Although isolated instances of physical crucifixion | 4:43 | |
are recorded later in the fourth century. | 4:49 | |
Society has often replaced as you well know, | 4:56 | |
one form of barbaric behavior | 5:02 | |
in this particular area, by others. | 5:04 | |
Today in France, for instance, | 5:10 | |
a general of the French army has been | 5:13 | |
sentenced to die by the guillotine. | 5:17 | |
In North Carolina a more humane technique | 5:22 | |
of the gas chamber is in current use. | 5:27 | |
Whether shocked or hardened by such examples | 5:33 | |
of physical horror, | 5:40 | |
our society as nonetheless accepted into its language, | 5:45 | |
this word, crucified. | 5:50 | |
Although as I have noted the substantial right | 5:54 | |
or act of crucifixion disappeared, certainly, | 5:58 | |
by the end of the fourth century. | 6:04 | |
We have used this word in the past and do so today, | 6:09 | |
to signify the more sophisticated forms of crucifixion | 6:14 | |
that are common to our modern world. | 6:21 | |
The crucifixion of holding to a different creed | 6:26 | |
or that crucifixion of belonging to a different race. | 6:33 | |
The majesty of our proper civil law in this democracy, | 6:42 | |
does not condone any element of travesty of justice. | 6:48 | |
It may conduct its affairs, however, | 6:55 | |
in an unholy glare of publicity and fanfare. | 6:59 | |
Wrongdoings of men or women, are punished quite correctly, | 7:06 | |
but the impact of television and radio and newspaper | 7:13 | |
reiterating this wrong to what seems to be | 7:17 | |
a monstrously interested public, | 7:22 | |
truly crucifies those innocent | 7:25 | |
but must standby the wrongdoers. | 7:29 | |
We see this as an instance of a growing phenomenon | 7:33 | |
and a savage world, | 7:38 | |
and wonder if the tradition of the sponge of vinegar, | 7:41 | |
has disappeared from our culture. | 7:46 | |
And if the word crucify, | 7:50 | |
will always be part of our language. | 7:53 | |
Perhaps in a more singular way, | 8:01 | |
we may use this word to describe the more difficult | 8:04 | |
nuances of intellectual segregation. | 8:08 | |
We may affirm starkly a sense of, | 8:14 | |
or the importance of intellectual neutrality, | 8:18 | |
and thus deny the responsibility of a commitment. | 8:24 | |
This man on the cross made a commitment, | 8:31 | |
and died in physical anguish that we might live. | 8:36 | |
Pilate, a single minded, but rather perplexed, | 8:44 | |
Governor of Rome, swept aside | 8:48 | |
all it was pitiful and disturbing, | 8:52 | |
all it was in conflict with the goals of the Roman empire. | 8:56 | |
In short the lessons of ancient or modern crucifixion | 9:02 | |
would both suggest that science, education | 9:10 | |
and political values are not enough in themselves | 9:16 | |
and in our success or failure, | 9:21 | |
and the conduct of human affairs, | 9:24 | |
is dependent in large part upon ethical values. | 9:27 | |
And the identification of these ethical values | 9:34 | |
is a very difficult matter. | 9:38 | |
And it is difficult for us also to keep fresh in our minds | 9:43 | |
that this man lived much of His life | 9:49 | |
at the side of the wrong people. | 9:53 | |
They were beggars, sinners, outcasts of all types, | 9:57 | |
hardly people that one could call, respectable people. | 10:03 | |
Now He dies in torment and says, "I thirst." | 10:09 | |
Before this, He has become frightened. | 10:17 | |
Perhaps He realizes that in His commitment, | 10:22 | |
He is paying a fearful price | 10:25 | |
and He has called out, | 10:29 | |
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" | 10:31 | |
Now He is numbed. | 10:38 | |
He is just as human as we are. | 10:40 | |
Nurses and doctors are accustomed | 10:47 | |
to hearing these two cries. | 10:52 | |
I am thirsty. | 10:57 | |
Give me water. | 10:59 | |
Oh my God, I can't stand this pain. | 11:02 | |
Do something. | 11:08 | |
Our responses to these common cries and to other cries, | 11:11 | |
perhaps of future import are never intellectual responses | 11:16 | |
of a complex form. | 11:24 | |
There exists no element of doubt of experimentation, | 11:29 | |
of scientific interpretation, of adjusting with matters | 11:37 | |
where you cannot understand. | 11:44 | |
These responses are simple, | 11:48 | |
hopefully compassionate, | 11:51 | |
and formed about the faith and some trifle of knowledge. | 11:55 | |
The tragedy of this day, | 12:03 | |
about which we now Medicaid this day of long ago, | 12:05 | |
is coming to an end. | 12:10 | |
What can be done has been done. | 12:14 | |
The sponge of vinegar and wine | 12:18 | |
has been pressed against dying lips. | 12:21 | |
And those people grouped around the cross | 12:26 | |
are not aware of the coming | 12:31 | |
of the majesty of the resurrection. | 12:35 | |
The epistles of the Philippians states | 12:40 | |
(indistinct) of simple faith. | 12:42 | |
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, | 12:48 | |
who being in the form of God, | 12:56 | |
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, | 12:59 | |
but made himself of no reputation and took upon Him | 13:06 | |
the form of a servant, | 13:11 | |
and was made in the likeness of men. | 13:14 | |
And being found in fashion as a man, | 13:19 | |
He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, | 13:22 | |
even a death of the cross. | 13:28 | |
Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him | 13:33 | |
and given Him a name, which is above every name. | 13:38 | |
That at the name of Jesus, | 13:42 | |
every knee should bow, of things in heaven | 13:44 | |
and things in the earth, and things under the earth. | 13:49 | |
And that every tongue should confess | 13:54 | |
that Jesus Christ is Lord, | 13:57 | |
to the glory of God, the father. | 14:00 | |
Here ends this epistle. | 14:05 | |
We stand here now, in this beautiful chapel, | 14:09 | |
20 centuries later, | 14:13 | |
reenacting this play, | 14:17 | |
again, waiting for the resurrection to come | 14:20 | |
and we to pray. | 14:26 | |
All mighty God, we beseech thee graciously | 14:31 | |
to behold this thy family, | 14:34 | |
for which our Lord, Jesus Christ was contented | 14:39 | |
to be betrayed and given up into the hands of wicked men | 14:42 | |
and to suffer death on the cross, | 14:49 | |
who now liveth and reigneth with thee, | 14:54 | |
and the Holy Ghost ever, | 14:56 | |
one God, world without end, amen. | 14:59 | |
(acoustic choir music) | 15:11 | |
Let us pray. | 19:33 | |
Heavenly father, let us feel thy presence. | 19:37 | |
We come before thee this hour in silence, | 19:43 | |
in reverence, to remember the anguish and pain, | 19:47 | |
endured by our savior, Jesus Christ. | 19:52 | |
But in a larger sense, | 19:57 | |
we too are guilty as were those | 19:58 | |
at the time of His crucifixion, | 20:02 | |
for we, also have denied thee and persecuted thee | 20:04 | |
by our own examples of living. | 20:09 | |
Help us then at this moment to pause, | 20:14 | |
to forget our personal needs and desires | 20:17 | |
and reflect upon this man, our Lord Jesus Christ. | 20:21 | |
We are grateful for His life, | 20:28 | |
for the strength we receive through Him. | 20:31 | |
In our lives, at times both, | 20:35 | |
when we are unaware of thy presence and now. | 20:38 | |
Help us in the midst of our sufferings and shortcomings | 20:43 | |
to not lose heart, hope or faith, | 20:47 | |
we offer our prayers for all men in every vocation | 20:53 | |
asking that we may better serve thee. | 20:58 | |
And now father, take hold of our lives | 21:03 | |
and give us courage and strength | 21:07 | |
that we may be led together, under Jesus Christ. | 21:09 | |
And when we finish each hour, when we finish each day, | 21:15 | |
help us to continually look to thee for hope, | 21:20 | |
so that at the end, | 21:24 | |
we may finish life with the same confidence and hope | 21:26 | |
which He had. | 21:30 | |
We ask these things, in Christ's name. | 21:33 | |
Amen. | 21:37 | |
(acoustic choir music) | 21:40 | |
(choir singing indistinctly) | 24:11 | |
Let us hear the Word, | 24:50 | |
as it is written in the gospel | 24:52 | |
according to St John 19: 30, | 24:53 | |
"When Jesus had received the vinegar, | 25:01 | |
"He said, "It is finished" | 25:03 | |
"and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." | 25:07 | |
So ended the reading. | 25:11 | |
The scripture we just read is known | 25:14 | |
throughout the Christian world, | 25:16 | |
as the sixth word of Christ from the cross. | 25:18 | |
Many of you are no doubt, very familiar | 25:23 | |
with the entire seven words. | 25:26 | |
And I've heard during the earlier meditations today | 25:28 | |
of the first five words. | 25:32 | |
These sixth words, "It is finished," | 25:35 | |
taken out of context, | 25:39 | |
could have many meanings in regards to the crucifixion. | 25:41 | |
And it was very necessary for me to, again, | 25:45 | |
review the events around the cross | 25:49 | |
to reach a full understanding of what was finished. | 25:51 | |
And in doing so, | 25:56 | |
I believe that my most satisfying experience | 25:57 | |
came from a collection of sermons, | 26:01 | |
by the late Peter Marshall, | 26:04 | |
and edited by his wife, Catherine Marshall, | 26:06 | |
into a book titled, "The First Easter." | 26:10 | |
This book gives you a very vivid picture | 26:14 | |
of the events of the crucifixion, | 26:18 | |
of the final words of Christ on the cross. | 26:22 | |
You will remember that the events leading to the cross | 26:26 | |
took place in the city of Jerusalem. | 26:29 | |
And as we again, look into the drama, | 26:31 | |
we see the 12 gathered together | 26:34 | |
in what was the beat crisis last night on earth. | 26:37 | |
Jesus Himself had made all the arrangements | 26:42 | |
for this gathering, | 26:44 | |
to be remembered by all, as the last supper. | 26:46 | |
A strange silence beat in the hearts of these men, | 26:49 | |
as they were apprehensive, | 26:53 | |
they remembered that Christ had begun His ministry, | 26:56 | |
by telling the apostles, | 27:00 | |
that the son of man must suffer many things. | 27:01 | |
Christ realized there was no other way. | 27:06 | |
That it was His job to be the instrument | 27:09 | |
by which the father would for all time, | 27:12 | |
make death not a wall, but a door. | 27:15 | |
And it was at this meeting that He shocked His followers | 27:21 | |
by stating that one of the 12 would betray Him. | 27:23 | |
And we see this one Judas, parked in the room | 27:27 | |
to keep his treacherous rendezvous. | 27:30 | |
The 11 who remained were now very quiet and concerned. | 27:34 | |
However Christ recognizing their anxiety, | 27:38 | |
left them with pardon words of comfort, | 27:41 | |
telling them to abide in Him. | 27:44 | |
So as the gathering ends, we see Jesus, a man facing death, | 27:47 | |
moving to His rendezvous, not afraid, but confident. | 27:53 | |
Already telling the apostles that He would see them again. | 27:58 | |
This group then departs, | 28:02 | |
and heads to the garden of Gethsemane, | 28:03 | |
a favorite spot. | 28:07 | |
And it is here that the evil Judas reappears | 28:09 | |
with the temple guards and soldiers, | 28:12 | |
they seize and bide, Christ, | 28:15 | |
after the kiss of Judas had identified Christ as the one. | 28:18 | |
Peter stands by draws his sword, | 28:23 | |
but is rebuked by Christ. | 28:26 | |
And he stands puzzles as he cannot understand, | 28:28 | |
the calm submission with which Christ | 28:33 | |
allows Himself to be led away. | 28:36 | |
To face the group, | 28:39 | |
the Sanhedrin and the preliminary investigation. | 28:41 | |
Now the task before the Sanhedrin was not an easy one. | 28:45 | |
It was headed by Caiaphas, the high priest, | 28:50 | |
and they needed to find valid grounds | 28:54 | |
for getting rid of Jesus | 28:56 | |
because He posed a problem to their way of living, | 28:58 | |
but they failed. | 29:01 | |
How could you convict one who healed the sick, | 29:03 | |
fed the multitudes | 29:07 | |
and who was teaching the love of God | 29:09 | |
and of one's neighbor. | 29:11 | |
Witnesses were hard to find. | 29:13 | |
The first charge was made that He threatened the temple. | 29:16 | |
Christ made no reply. | 29:20 | |
Caiaphas had hoped to develop | 29:24 | |
so many Roman feelings from Jesus, but he failed. | 29:25 | |
So Caiaphas, removed (indistinct) | 29:29 | |
and decided to use his last and most dangerous weapon, | 29:32 | |
point blank he demanded to know of Jesus, | 29:37 | |
"Do you claim to be the Messiah?" | 29:40 | |
"I am," was the reply. | 29:44 | |
Now Jesus could have denied this and been released, | 29:47 | |
but again, He took the initiative on His road to the cross. | 29:51 | |
Caiaphas was overjoyed, and he cried out, | 29:56 | |
"That is blasphemy and no further witnesses are needed." | 29:59 | |
The prisoner stood condemned, not of His own mouth. | 30:04 | |
With this, the death penalty was decreed | 30:08 | |
and then some in the crowd began to spit on Him. | 30:11 | |
And the guards began to strike Him as he was marched off | 30:15 | |
to face of the Roman governor, Pilate. | 30:18 | |
Now it was necessary for Caiaphas | 30:21 | |
to gain the favor of Pilate, and so secure | 30:23 | |
the death of Jesus, | 30:26 | |
for only could the Romans order the death penalty. | 30:28 | |
Pilate demanded the charge and was told that, | 30:33 | |
Jesus was an evil doer. | 30:35 | |
But Pilate was not pleased with this charge | 30:38 | |
and he decides to examine Jesus in private. | 30:41 | |
He ends the interview with a feeling of not guilty | 30:45 | |
about this strange man. | 30:47 | |
And he tells the crowd that he can find no fault | 30:50 | |
with this man. | 30:52 | |
But now the priests are angry and the crowd | 30:54 | |
hold new acquisitions and Pilate begins to feel uncertain. | 30:57 | |
And he tries to shift the case to Herod, | 31:02 | |
but Herod declines and tells Pilate | 31:05 | |
that he deserves the privilege. | 31:09 | |
So Pilate though wanting to release Christ, | 31:11 | |
finds again, that he must deal with this man. | 31:14 | |
So as was the custom, | 31:18 | |
he allowed that he will punish Him and release Him, | 31:20 | |
but the priests would not accept this verdict. | 31:23 | |
And the angry crowd calls for the release of the Barnabas, | 31:26 | |
if any is to be released. | 31:29 | |
"But Barnabas is a murderous," says Pilate, | 31:32 | |
"and what harm has Jesus done? | 31:35 | |
"And what shall I do with Him?" | 31:37 | |
But the mob would not listen. | 31:40 | |
Now prompted by the priest, | 31:43 | |
they shout, "Crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify." | 31:45 | |
Pilate tries to reason, | 31:51 | |
but he has already heard of the sounds of the mob | 31:52 | |
as they shout all the more, "Crucify Him." | 31:54 | |
Pilate motions for Jesus to come forward. | 31:59 | |
He obviously has mixed emotions about this man. | 32:02 | |
He asked, "Who art though?" | 32:05 | |
But Jesus remained silent. | 32:09 | |
Pilate says, "Answer me. | 32:12 | |
"You must know that I have the power to crucify | 32:14 | |
"or to release you." | 32:18 | |
So here again, we see Christ as an opportunity | 32:21 | |
to escape the cross, but He would not. | 32:24 | |
He would only say slowly, | 32:29 | |
clearly, "You could have no power at all against me, | 32:32 | |
"except if it were given above." | 32:37 | |
Even this statement did not irritate Pilate. | 32:42 | |
He was now more determined than ever to release this man. | 32:45 | |
But by now the mob voices were even louder. | 32:49 | |
And again, they took up the cry, crucify, crucify. | 32:52 | |
So Pilate recognized the extreme heat of the priests, | 32:57 | |
and the passion of the crowd. | 33:01 | |
And he decided to wash his hands before the crowd. | 33:04 | |
And by this act declasse himself innocent of this man. | 33:07 | |
They then lead Jesus away. | 33:12 | |
And later between two files of soldiers, | 33:15 | |
staggered three condemned man, | 33:20 | |
each carrying a cross on which he was to be executed. | 33:22 | |
The sun was hot, the cross is heavy, | 33:28 | |
the mob still chanting, crucify, | 33:33 | |
and also shouting insults to the man in the middle. | 33:36 | |
The one with the absurd crown of thorns on His head, | 33:39 | |
the Merrill command. | 33:43 | |
And as they moved out of the city to the hill of Golgotha, | 33:46 | |
Christ was offered a drink which was drugged, | 33:50 | |
but He refused it. | 33:52 | |
He wanted to meet his death with all His senses intact. | 33:55 | |
Then the nails were driven in, | 34:00 | |
and as He was raised in the air on the cross, | 34:02 | |
the weight of the body pulled open gaping wounds, | 34:05 | |
and the people who watched rejoiced in His agony | 34:09 | |
and ridiculed Him. | 34:13 | |
Jesus opened His eyes and He could see below | 34:16 | |
all heads turned up, faces looking up, | 34:18 | |
fingers pointing, the shafts of mockery, | 34:23 | |
and He could hear on His right and on His left, | 34:28 | |
the sighs of the dying thieves. | 34:30 | |
Now below Him, the crowd chanted His own words back to Him. | 34:34 | |
He saved others, He cannot save Himself. | 34:38 | |
He even brought back the dead, now look at Him. | 34:44 | |
Perform a miracle now, miracle man, | 34:48 | |
come down from the cross and we will believe you. | 34:52 | |
If you be Christ, come down. | 34:55 | |
This mockery must've been very hard for Jesus to endure. | 35:00 | |
And in many ways more better | 35:04 | |
than the hatred of the Sanhedrin. | 35:05 | |
But because of the noise, | 35:08 | |
only a few could hear a demoted, | 35:09 | |
"Father, forgive them for they know not that they do." | 35:12 | |
Then one of the thieves was overheard saying, | 35:18 | |
"Can't you see how we suffer? | 35:21 | |
"If you are the son of God, take us down, | 35:23 | |
"save yourself and us." | 35:27 | |
And Jesus answered, | 35:31 | |
"Today thou shall be with me in paradise." | 35:32 | |
Yet all the while the soldiers continued in the mockery, | 35:37 | |
playing dice and even tossing for the tuning comprise. | 35:41 | |
And then suddenly the sky was very dark | 35:46 | |
and people looking up became frightened. | 35:52 | |
Women and children fled, the shouting died. | 35:56 | |
The soldiers put away their dice. | 36:01 | |
And again, Jesus opened His eyes and gave a loud cry. | 36:05 | |
The gladness in His voice startled all who heard it, | 36:10 | |
for it sounded like a victory shout, "It is finished." | 36:14 | |
And then after commending His spirit to God, He died. | 36:19 | |
A shout a victory, it is finished. | 36:24 | |
Nothing was finished. | 36:27 | |
The end of the King of the Jews, | 36:30 | |
a defeat for the followers of Christ, | 36:34 | |
and a victory for Pilate, | 36:37 | |
the bitter end of a man doomed to failure. | 36:40 | |
No, this was a cry of triumph | 36:44 | |
because Christ had completed the task, | 36:48 | |
the father had sent Him to do. | 36:51 | |
He had completed the whole scheme that was necessary | 36:54 | |
for Him to be able to say, | 36:58 | |
He came to save that which was lost. | 37:00 | |
He had finished the most difficult task of all times. | 37:04 | |
He could have saved Himself. | 37:09 | |
He could have avoided Jerusalem. | 37:12 | |
He could have left the garden. | 37:15 | |
He could have compromised with the priest. | 37:19 | |
Or He could have called upon God to rescue Him | 37:22 | |
and show the great power. | 37:25 | |
Many ways of escape were available, but He stayed, | 37:28 | |
suffered the punishment, the mockery, the pain, | 37:34 | |
and finally death, in order to establish forever | 37:39 | |
our salvation and accomplished for us, | 37:43 | |
what we could not do ourselves. | 37:48 | |
This triumph on the cross will live forever | 37:52 | |
as the greatest moment in our history. | 37:54 | |
Man have had their moments, | 37:57 | |
yet they themselves acknowledge that their deeds for small, | 38:00 | |
in comparison to those of Christ. | 38:04 | |
It was once reported that somebody asked a Napoleon | 38:08 | |
when he was on the island of (indistinct), | 38:10 | |
"Who was the greatest warrior of all times?" | 38:13 | |
Without a moment's hesitation, | 38:18 | |
the Napoleon replied that Jesus Christ was the greatest. | 38:19 | |
"You would not have said that four months ago," | 38:24 | |
said inquirer. | 38:26 | |
"I realize that," said the Napoleon, | 38:28 | |
"But since I have been on this island, | 38:31 | |
"I've had a chance to think, | 38:34 | |
"men like Charlemagne, Alexander the Great, | 38:36 | |
"Julius Caesar and myself, | 38:41 | |
"we fight all battles with tears and blood | 38:45 | |
"and with implements of war. | 38:48 | |
"But all Christ had was a broken rib | 38:51 | |
"and a heart of redeeming love. | 38:54 | |
"I call my own guards and they have so me not. | 38:57 | |
"Christ calls man, | 39:03 | |
"but though they have been hundreds of years | 39:05 | |
"since His death, they answer today." | 39:07 | |
Let us pray. | 39:12 | |
Almighty God. | 39:17 | |
As we today, again, | 39:19 | |
recall the great victory of Christ on the cross. | 39:21 | |
Grant that we might have the wisdom to recognize our task | 39:25 | |
and the strength and the courage | 39:29 | |
to face flicker form thy will, | 39:32 | |
so that when that great day comes, | 39:36 | |
we too will be able to finish with a knowledge of triumph. | 39:38 | |
Amen. | 39:44 | |
(acoustic choir music) | 39:47 | |
Let our hearts be united together in prayer. | 42:19 | |
Almighty God, our most gracious and merciful heavenly, | 42:25 | |
to be delivered up and crucified | 42:30 | |
that we might be forgiven our sin and have eternal life. | 42:34 | |
We come humbly before the, in the quiet of this hour, | 42:41 | |
thanking thee for thy great love, | 42:47 | |
which has made manifest in Jesus Christ. | 42:50 | |
We thank thee for all the benefits, which thou has given us | 42:55 | |
unworthy as we are. | 42:59 | |
For all the pains and insults, | 43:02 | |
which thou has borne for us in Jesus Christ. | 43:04 | |
We thank thee too father that through Him, | 43:09 | |
we are able to call thee, our father. | 43:13 | |
Grant onto us this day, oh God, | 43:19 | |
a true vision of all that He suffered. | 43:23 | |
His betrayal, His lonely agony, | 43:27 | |
His false trial, His mocking, and scourging, | 43:32 | |
even the torture of the cross. | 43:38 | |
That remembering His suffering and death, | 43:43 | |
which He bore for our redemption, | 43:46 | |
we may give ourselves, holy unto thee. | 43:51 | |
That with Christ, we may always be able to say, | 43:55 | |
into thy hands gracious father, we commit our spirits. | 44:00 | |
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, | 44:06 | |
our Lord and savior. | 44:09 | |
Amen. | 44:12 | |
(acoustic choir music) | 44:16 | |
(choir singing indistinctly) | ||
And it was about the sixth hour, | 49:25 | |
and there was a darkness over all the earth, | 49:28 | |
until the ninth hour. | 49:31 | |
And the sun was darkened, | 49:34 | |
and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. | 49:36 | |
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, | 49:41 | |
"Father into thy hands, I commend my spirit." | 49:45 | |
And having said this, He gave up the ghost. | 49:52 | |
Now when the Centurion saw what was done, | 49:57 | |
He glorified God saying, | 50:01 | |
"Certainly this was a righteous man." | 50:03 | |
A layman who undertakes to make a religious talk, | 50:13 | |
can only set about the task with utmost humility. | 50:17 | |
This is so rather he seeks to interpret the simplest | 50:23 | |
biblical phrase, all gravity ventures more boldly, | 50:26 | |
into the letters of the great apostles, | 50:31 | |
or into the words of Jesus reported in the gospels. | 50:34 | |
He knows that one who explores these words | 50:40 | |
searches out the infinite, and he is inspired. | 50:44 | |
Yet he knows that explorers more skilled than he, | 50:51 | |
learned theologians, have returned from their own voyages | 50:56 | |
reporting widely different findings. | 51:01 | |
So the untrained laymen begins his task of interpretation | 51:05 | |
with a great sense of inadequacy, | 51:10 | |
unless he is an utter fool. | 51:14 | |
How much greater is this sense of inadequacy | 51:18 | |
when the topic is one of the crucial words from the cross? | 51:21 | |
How overwhelming it is when the text is the last | 51:27 | |
recorded Word of the Christ before His death, | 51:31 | |
"Father into thy hands, I commend my spirit." | 51:37 | |
Bear in mind that Jesus knew | 51:43 | |
that these were to be his final words before his death. | 51:45 | |
Therefore, we may be certain that He chose them | 51:50 | |
with deliberate care. | 51:53 | |
We know of course, that all of the words said the first, | 51:57 | |
father, on a quotation from a familiar song. | 52:00 | |
This fact does not make them the less, Christ's words. | 52:06 | |
His appropriation of these words in His last moments of life | 52:13 | |
high on a wooden cross gave them a new meaning, | 52:17 | |
a deeper meaning than they had ever had before. | 52:22 | |
Before the words were a familiar portion of scripture, | 52:26 | |
and a familiar bedtime prayer | 52:32 | |
for thousands of Jewish children. | 52:34 | |
Once they escaped the parched lips of the dying savior, | 52:38 | |
as His last words deliberately chosen, | 52:42 | |
they became the symbol of the very wonder, | 52:46 | |
and mystery of the cross. | 52:49 | |
Who, layman or theologian, | 52:53 | |
would dare approve the deepest meanings of Christ | 52:57 | |
as he says, "Father into thy hands, I commend my spirit." | 53:00 | |
The very first word, father, provides role material | 53:06 | |
for unending scholarly debate | 53:11 | |
on the concept of the Holy Trinity. | 53:13 | |
That certainly is to powerfully dose for the lay speaker. | 53:17 | |
Take the phrase, I commend, what deep meanings is there. | 53:23 | |
I commend connotes a voluntary act. | 53:30 | |
And if we put this in the context of some things Christ said | 53:35 | |
and did before, we began to see that this death | 53:39 | |
is no catastrophe or accident, | 53:43 | |
no ordinary taking of life by man, | 53:47 | |
but is rather the climax, the consummation, | 53:53 | |
the fulfillment of a divine plan. | 53:57 | |
Long before that hour, Jesus had said, | 54:02 | |
"I lay down my life that I might take it again." | 54:05 | |
Christ had also reminded Pilate, | 54:12 | |
that he could have no power over Him, | 54:15 | |
except that it was given from above. | 54:18 | |
This Pilate, who thought his power over Christ | 54:22 | |
came from Rome. | 54:27 | |
Jesus' last words from the cross, | 54:31 | |
sound a strong note of immortality. | 54:34 | |
Now Jesus was not the first to speak of life after death, | 54:39 | |
but we Christians believe that He spoke | 54:44 | |
as one who knew, travelers know the way. | 54:48 | |
And He who came from that state of glory knew the way back. | 54:55 | |
Beyond the grave was no mystery to Jesus, | 55:01 | |
but blessed reunion with the father. | 55:06 | |
So the scholar who studies the seventh word from Calvary, | 55:10 | |
catches and echo of the infinite, | 55:15 | |
to quote from a well-known Jurist, | 55:18 | |
"He sees perhaps the key to greater understanding | 55:21 | |
"of the Holy Trinity or the concept of immortality | 55:25 | |
"or of the cross itself. | 55:31 | |
"But what of the layman? | 55:35 | |
"Is this something in this last word,# | 55:38 | |
"that he can take hold of, that he can understand. | 55:41 | |
"There is indeed, one profound truth | 55:47 | |
"that is yet within our own poor understanding | 55:51 | |
"emerges instantly when we read Jesus dying words. | 55:54 | |
"That profound yet simple truth is that, | 55:59 | |
"Jesus died precisely as he had lived, | 56:02 | |
"in complete commitment to the heavenly father. | 56:06 | |
"Jesus did not redirect his path in this moment. | 56:11 | |
"He continued along a well won and familiar path. | 56:15 | |
"The path of His father's will and His father's work." | 56:19 | |
Think with me, if you will of the very pattern | 56:25 | |
of Jesus' life. | 56:28 | |
Recall, for example, | 56:31 | |
the question that a precocious lad of 12 | 56:33 | |
had asked of his anxious parents, | 56:36 | |
when after frantic seeking, they found Him in the temple, | 56:39 | |
sitting in the midst of the doctors, | 56:43 | |
both hearing them and asking them questions. | 56:45 | |
His mother had said, | 56:48 | |
"Son, why has though dealt with us? | 56:49 | |
"Behold, thy father and I have sought thee solemnly." | 56:54 | |
The answer came, "How is it that you sought me? | 56:59 | |
"Wish we not that I must be about my father's business?" | 57:03 | |
Total commitment to the father, | 57:08 | |
came early in the life of Christ. | 57:11 | |
Think of a later episode in the life of Jesus. | 57:15 | |
The temptation by the devil, | 57:18 | |
"Turn this bread to stone," said Satan, | 57:22 | |
to a hungry young man. | 57:25 | |
Again, "Bow down and worship me," said Satan, | 57:28 | |
"And I will give you all the kingdoms of the world." | 57:33 | |
And yet a third temptation Satan said, | 57:37 | |
"Cast thyself down from the pinnacle of the temple, | 57:40 | |
"for you will not be harmed | 57:45 | |
"and your reputation will spread far and wide." | 57:47 | |
But the young man, Jesus, | 57:51 | |
was just as absorbed in the mission of the father, | 57:54 | |
as he had been the young boy, Jesus, a few years before. | 57:59 | |
Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan." | 58:03 | |
And he went down into Nazareth into the synagogue | 58:06 | |
and read from the scriptures. | 58:10 | |
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me | 58:12 | |
"because He has anointed me | 58:14 | |
"to preach the gospel to the poor. | 58:15 | |
"He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, | 58:19 | |
"to preach deliverance to the captives | 58:22 | |
"and recovering of sight to the blind, | 58:24 | |
"to set at liberty them that are bruised, | 58:27 | |
"to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." | 58:31 | |
Yes, Christ commitment dated back long before Calvary. | 58:34 | |
And then one of the most beautiful stories | 58:42 | |
in all the gospels, because it shows us the humanity of God. | 58:44 | |
I refer to the agony of Gethsemane. | 58:52 | |
Here is the very human Christ, tempted to bypass Calvary. | 58:55 | |
And his sweat was as it were a great drops of blood | 59:02 | |
falling down to the ground. | 59:05 | |
And he said, "Father, if thou be willing, | 59:08 | |
"remove this cup from me. | 59:12 | |
"Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." | 59:16 | |
So Christ died as He had lived, totally committed to God. | 59:22 | |
After He had made the commitment of Himself to His father, | 59:29 | |
a fixed habit of His life, | 59:33 | |
it was only natural for him to fall asleep | 59:36 | |
with this prayer upon His lips, | 59:39 | |
"Father into the hands, I commend my spirit." | 59:41 | |
Don't we all die pretty much as we live? | 59:48 | |
Charles Lamb once wrote up a grand quote, | 59:52 | |
"Who parted this life as he had lived without much trouble." | 59:56 | |
End of quote. | 1:00:02 | |
And then the story is told of a death of a man | 1:00:04 | |
who had made himself famous in the restaurant business. | 1:00:07 | |
He had established restaurants all the way | 1:00:12 | |
across this continent. | 1:00:15 | |
When at last he reached the end of his earthly journey, | 1:00:19 | |
those nearest to him gathered about his bed | 1:00:22 | |
to hear his final words. | 1:00:24 | |
When they bent over to catch his last whisper, | 1:00:27 | |
what do you think he said? | 1:00:32 | |
"Slice the ham thin." | 1:00:35 | |
Now there is nothing necessarily wicked | 1:00:39 | |
about such a final word, | 1:00:42 | |
but doesn't the story illustrate how strong in depth, | 1:00:45 | |
are the habits of a lifetime? | 1:00:49 | |
I know we are taught that we are saved if we but believe, | 1:00:54 | |
and that true repentance, even at the 11th hour, | 1:00:58 | |
enables Christ, who has stood patiently at the door | 1:01:03 | |
and knocked, to enter at last. | 1:01:06 | |
But deathbed religion, or a foxhole religion, | 1:01:11 | |
has never seemed particularly reliable to me. | 1:01:15 | |
In the first place, many of us will not know | 1:01:21 | |
which breathe is to be our last, | 1:01:23 | |
and may never get around to commending our spirits | 1:01:25 | |
to the heavenly father if we keep putting it off. | 1:01:29 | |
And the second place, | 1:01:34 | |
turning to God in contemplation of death, | 1:01:36 | |
after ignoring Him throughout life, | 1:01:39 | |
is somehow not very convincing, even to me. | 1:01:43 | |
And I wonder how it must appear to an all-knowing God. | 1:01:48 | |
Any man who can speak at all just before death | 1:01:53 | |
can say the words, | 1:01:55 | |
"Father into my hands, I commend my spirit." | 1:01:57 | |
But this does not mean that any man can die as Jesus died. | 1:02:02 | |
If one is to die, as He died, | 1:02:08 | |
the words must come naturally to his lips, | 1:02:11 | |
from a lifetime of commitment. | 1:02:15 | |
Dr. Clovis Chappell tells a story from his own experience, | 1:02:19 | |
which illustrates what I am trying to say | 1:02:23 | |
about deathbed, religion. | 1:02:25 | |
He says that he was called once to see a man | 1:02:28 | |
who was desperately ill. | 1:02:30 | |
Although he had largely wasted himself in riotous living, | 1:02:33 | |
when he realized that he was coming close to the end, | 1:02:37 | |
he called the lay minister, Dr. Chappell went. | 1:02:40 | |
And in the words of John Wesley, offered him Christ. | 1:02:45 | |
Dr. Chappell believes that the offer was accepted | 1:02:51 | |
in sincerity, despite the lateness of the hour, | 1:02:56 | |
the man seemed to receive the message with joy | 1:03:00 | |
and his loved ones rejoiced with him. | 1:03:03 | |
But then the man became unconscious, | 1:03:08 | |
and when he slipped away, | 1:03:11 | |
his last word alas, was not a prayer, but a curse. | 1:03:13 | |
Of course he did not know what he was saying, | 1:03:21 | |
but so long had he schooled his tongue | 1:03:25 | |
in the language of blasphemy | 1:03:27 | |
that he swore spontaneously. | 1:03:29 | |
Indeed how strong in depth, are the habits of a lifetime. | 1:03:33 | |
Do we live our lives as Christ lived His, | 1:03:41 | |
in commitment to the will and work of God? | 1:03:46 | |
Are we with the 12 year old Jesus... | 1:03:51 |