The Seven Last Words of Christ - II

THE FOURTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”(Matthew 27:46)?

When we consider the seven words of Christ from on the cross, we cannot but be amazed at the richness of the blessings that flow to us from Him. It is truly a hard heart that cannot be crushed by what we see or be softened by what we hear as Jesus hung on the cross. That is no less true of the 4th Word that our Savior spoke.

The reality of the Father’s love in promising a Savior is overwhelming to the penitent who knows what was lost by the sin of Adam and Eve, and who recognizes the on-going nature of sin in one’s own life. The manner of His conception of the Holy Ghost and birth of the Virgin Mary is no less overwhelming because it is so contrary to nature. But we believe the miracle, and gladly so for it declares to us that Jesus is without sin. That He should bear the sins of the world and suffer for all people is beyond reason. But one of the most overwhelming events, and some of the most incomprehensible words recorded in the Scriptures are these spoken by Jesus from the cross in mid-afternoon. It was at three o’clock in the afternoon, the very hour when the lambs for the evening sacrifice were slain that Jesus said, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

If there is nothing else that strikes the penitent sinner with the enormity of sin, surely it is these words that express the forsakenness of Jesus by His Father. There is no hell on

earth when we understand what hell is. There may be things on earth that mimic hell, but hell in the real sense is being forsaken by God. Being forsaken of God is the epitome of punishment. God is not in hell, nor can those in hell call upon God. The Father forsook His Son! Who can grasp it? Penitent sinners cannot grasp it but are thankful that that is the way it was. Much less can the denier of Christ to whom the preaching of the cross is foolishness understand it (1 Corinthians 1:18).

The question of Jesus underscores the reality of His suffering and shame. What He endured was not a charade. It was real! In the very question we can appreciate the severity of what it is from which we have been delivered. The answer to the “Why” of Jesus lies in the Father’s determinate will to spare sinful man from the dreadfulness of eternal condemnation. For us, it is not a flippant proposition of “Better He than we.” Nevertheless the blessed truth is that because Jesus suffered it, none who believe in His meritorious atonement will suffer it. Having been reconciled to God through the merit of the Lord Jesus we have peace with God. We still cannot fathom it, but as Christians we in faith believe that the Father forsook His Son in order that all who believe might have the daily assurance in life and at the moment of death, that the Father will not forsake us.

Thanks be to God the Father, and to His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and to the Spirit for giving us the faith to believe what is beyond comprehension.”

THE FIFTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

“I thirst” (John 19:28).

“I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily” (Psalm 69:3,17). “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God” (Ps 42:2)? “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death” (Ps 22:14-15). If we want to know the enormity of our sin, we need only to sit at the foot of the cross, and recognize that the words above from the Psalms are a reflection of what our Savior suffered. When originally offered the drink of myrrh and gall that would have alleviated His suffering and hastened His death, Jesus refused to receive it. He must be in full control of His senses to drink the cup of suffering to its fullest, for only by doing so could He satisfy the demands of the Law which pronounced death upon the sinner. To have done less would have left fallen man still under condemnation of eternal death with all its indescribable horror and suffering. But when He had endured it all, and had fully paid the price, the Son of God desired to see His Father. He was ready to die. It was His time, the time selected by Him. Unto the end Jesus remained in control of all things in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21).

Now He said, “I THIRST.” The thirst that He felt was not uncommon for someone in His circumstance. A parched throat oft times accompanies death. But His thirst was more than a dry throat. He thirsts for those for whom He died to come to Him and drink of the refreshing water of salvation. By prophecy Isaiah 53 says, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” After the toil of His soul, the Savior finds satisfaction in every soul that has been redeemed, and that has by faith grasped salvation in Him. Each time that we hear this word, “I thirst” we should appreciate what it is that He suffered, and at the same time daily bring Him satisfaction through our word and action, as well as our living faith and hope. In that manner we declare that Jesus did not thirst in vain. May we satisfy the thirst of the Savior by saying with David, “I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsts after thee, as a thirsty land” (Ps 143:6).