The Heart of the Savior

Luke. The chapter 23 particularly,
and there is a lengthy passage in the bulletin with almost zero
place for notes. You’ll have to get creative today
if you intend to take notes. For the last couple of weeks,
we’ve been looking at those that were in attendance at the cross,
those that were there when Jesus was crucified. We saw friends
of the cross, we saw certainly enemies of the cross and enemies
of Christ, and we also saw those that were somewhat neutral. I
suggested last week that there were, at our dinner, that there
were probably two that I would move back into the category of
friends of Christ and out of the category of neutral. That
would be Salome and Mary of Clopas, because they clearly, in Matthew
27, 55, it indicates that they ministered to Christ. And so,
taking a more careful look at that this past week, I clearly
would move those over. But there is obviously one person
that we haven’t looked at and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There’s one person that was there at the cross, the most important
person that was there at the cross, that we haven’t spent
a lot of time considering and that’s what we want to do this
morning. There are recorded, there are
several sermon series, there are several books out on the
seven sayings of the cross. There are in the Gospels recorded
seven statements that Jesus made while on the cross. Luke 23,
34 says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they are
doing. We will consider that passage this morning. Luke 23-43
says, truly I say to you today you shall be with me in paradise.
We will consider that one this morning. John 19-26 says, records
woman behold your son as Jesus looked down and asked John to
care for his mother and his mother to care for John. Matthew 27-46 records those words, Eli, Eli,
Lama, Sabatiani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? John
19.28 records the simple words, I am thirsty. John 19.30 records
an equally short statement, it is finished. And Luke 23, 46
records Jesus crying out with a loud voice, Father, into your
hands I commit my spirit. And we will consider that passage
as well this morning. Those statements reveal the heart
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those statements tell us who
He is and what He was like. We can look at the statements
and actions of those that were in attendance at the cross and
calculate, draw some conclusions on whether they were inclined
in favor towards Christ, were they his friends? We can certainly
draw some conclusions that there were enemies. We can look at
the data, and as sparse as it is, throw up our hands, in conclusion that we really
don’t know where these people stood. But with Christ, His testimony
is absolutely clear. We know exactly who the Savior
is. We know exactly what the Lord
is like because of the things that He said at the cross. If you would, I want to go to
Luke chapter 23. We’ll read this section in its
entirety and then we’ll go back. Luke records in verse 26, when
they let him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming
in from the country and placed on him the cross to carry behind
Jesus. And following him was a large
crowd of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting
him. But Jesus said, daughters of Jerusalem, weeping for me,
but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the
day of the coming, when they will say, blessed are the barren
and the wounds that never bore and the breast that never nursed.
Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us and
to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things when
the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? Two others
also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death
with him. When they came to the place called the Skull, there
they crucified him and the criminals, one on the right and the other
on the left. But Jesus was saying, Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And
they cast lots, dividing up his garments among themselves. And
the people stood by, looking on. The soldiers also mocked
him, coming up to him, offering him sour wine, and saying, If
you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. Now there was
also an inscription above, This is the king of the Jews. One
of the criminals who was hanged there was hurling abuse at him,
saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the
other answered, rebuking him, and said, Do you not even fear
God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly,
for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this
man has done nothing wrong. And he was saying, Jesus, remember
me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly, I
say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise. It was now
about the sixth hour and darkness fell over the whole land until
the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured and the veil of
the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a
loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Having said this, he breathed
his last. We’ve seen the hearts of other
people there in attendance at the cross. We certainly saw friends.
We absolutely saw enemies, and we saw those that we had no idea
where they stood with regard to Christ. But these words, the
words at the cross, and the words of Christ upon the cross reveal
very clearly where Jesus stood, not with regard to himself necessarily,
but with regard to others, with regard to the sinful creation
before whom he stood and who literally crucified him. John
John’s Gospel actually begins our little consideration this
morning, because in John’s Gospel 1917, and it’s just one verse,
I’ll read it for you clearly. It took Jesus, therefore, and
he went out bearing his own cross. Remember, there was the issue
of did Simon carry the cross or did Jesus carry the cross?
Jesus likely carried the cross for a time, as we’ll see in a
moment, and then Simon was put to task. And they carried it
to the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. As it was customary for the Jews,
Leviticus 24, 14 and other passages, executions were done outside
the gate of the city. It was considered a heinous and
unclean thing. Luke picks it up here, and it
says, when they led him away, in verse 26, they seized a man,
Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and they placed
on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. Matthew 27 records of Simon that
they literally pressed him into service. As we saw last week,
Simon didn’t offer to carry the cross. There wasn’t anything
necessarily noble about what he did. At least the gospel writers
don’t record it that way. And it is, of course, conjecture,
but I think it’s good conjecture that leads us to the conclusion
that it was exhaustion that forced Jesus to relinquish his cross.
Clearly, Jesus started out by carrying his cross, but in time,
He yielded it up to a man named Simon. Consider what Jesus had
gone through already. As one records, in the last 15
hours, the tense atmosphere in the upper room, the betrayal
by Judas, the agonies of Gethsemane, the desertion by his disciples,
the torture of a totally hypocritical trial before the Sanhedrin, the
mockery in the place of Caiaphas, the denial by his most prominent
disciple, Peter, The trial before the unjust judge, the pronunciation
of death, the terrible ordeal of being scourged, the abuse
of the soldiers in the prison. It’s totally understandable that,
humanly speaking, it’s a wonder that Jesus was able to carry
the cross any distance at all. And so they seize hold of a man
named Simon and force him to assist Jesus by carrying the
cross, at least a portion of it, And it is here that we begin
to see the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, the
heart of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in His words at the
cross. First of all, His heart is a
heart of compassion. A heart of compassion. 77. Following him was a large crowd
of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting to
him. I judge Jesus. Except that you
look at this reply by Jesus, and it just doesn’t seem fit.
What I do then, believe it we found out, is we’re professional
warriors. Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord, Lord, Lord, They wanted the funerals to be a big deal,
and a sad deal, and so they called them mourners. And that’s the
only thing that means Jesus’ words to them, because they’re
harsh otherwise. But when you look at them, when
you look at what Jesus says to these women, they are words of
compassion. Pause. Think about what you’re
doing, ladies. Don’t cry for me. It’s a call
to repentance. Weep for yourselves. Look at
Jesus’ words in verse 28, that Jesus, turning to them, said,
daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for
yourselves and for your children. That little phrase, daughters
of Jerusalem, really clears up some things for us. These were
not disciples. There is no record at all in
the gospels of any woman of Jerusalem coming to Christ. Sad. These few words are the only
words that take place that Jesus utters between his sentencing
and his crucifixion. Now there were seven sayings
on the cross and this is clearly on the road to the cross. But
these words tell us about the heart of Christ. It was a heart
of compassion. Even though, right now, Jesus
is already in agony. And even though, through the
next several hours, he will suffer what all of hell will dish out
toward him. Jesus knows that when the day
is finished, He will be with his Heavenly Father. His mission
will be accomplished. But unless these women come to
repentance, unless they begin to weep for their own sins, their
future is quite insecure. And this is a call to compassion.
This is a call to repentance. Look at verse 29, for behold,
the days are coming when they will say, blessed are the barren
and the wounds that never bore and the breast that never nursed.
Jesus says, I can’t even begin to tell you how horrible the
judgment would be coming on the land, coming on Jerusalem, coming
on the temple, which he had already told them. As one said, such terrible woes
would befall the city that women would be considered blessed if
they were childless. The enemy would destroy dream
in regard for sex or age. As we know, those words received
their fulfillment, didn’t they? Which had long been foretold
by prophecy that women were driven even to kill their own children
out of some kind of act of violence. Though they bring up their children,
yet I will bereave them until not a man is left. Yes, woe to
them indeed when I depart from them. Jesus continues. Look at verse 30, then they will
begin to say to the mountains, fall on us until the hills cover
us. That thought of the mountains
and hills falling upon them is recorded in three different places
in Scripture. Hosea 10.8 speaks of a time of
judgment. Which says, also the high places
of Avon, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle
will grow on their altars. Then they will say to the mountains,
cover us, and to the hills, follow us. Obviously, it occurs here
in Luke’s gospel, Jesus uttering these very words. And it also
occurs in Revelation chapter 6. They said to the mountains
and to the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the presence
of him who sits on the throne. This was a time of terrible and
horrendous judgment. And the wish is that the mountains
would fall on them and kill them, not protect them. They preferred
death to the utter devastation and horror that they were undergoing
by way of judgment. It’s interesting to note, as
I studied this passage in the siege of 70 AD, hundreds of the
Jews at the end of the siege hid themselves in underground
caves. It’s estimated that 2,000 people in these underground caves
perished when those caves gave way and they were buried. A literal
fulfillment to Jesus’ words. And then in verse 31, a very
curious statement, difficult to even grasp and understand.
For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will
happen when it is dry? This is an appeal to these women
to come to repentance. And what he says to them is,
if they will do this to me, if the world will turn their hatred
towards me, which he equates with green wood. If they will
destroy me, what will they do with dry, tinder-dry wood? What will the judgment be in
that day? And Jesus’ words, essentially,
are a merciful call to repentance to these women. Luke’s Gospel goes on. Luke’s
Gospel goes on and says that two others, also who were criminals,
in verse 32, were being led away to be put to death with him.
When they came to the place of the skull, there they crucified
him and the criminals, one on the right, the other on the left. I was fascinated to discover
this past week, there is no hill. There’s no hill in Scripture. the mount of Calvary, the hill
called Calvary, the mountain called the Skull. The Gospel
writers don’t paint it that way. They could have, and they didn’t.
As one said it, the common opinion that Calvary was a mount or a
hill is at any rate destitute of any foundation in Scripture.
All four of the Gospel writers speak of it as a place. Not one
of them calls it a mount. Interesting. They come to the
Place of the Skull. We don’t know exactly why it
was called the Place of the Skull. Did it have that appearance?
Was there some rock formation nearby? We don’t know why it
was called the Place of the Skull. But when they got there, and
note how few words Luke uses to describe this. There are entire
full-length feature movies now on all of these episodes that
Jesus underwent on the cross and leading up to it. Luke uses three words. In the Greek, there are three
words. There they crucified Him. In English, four. There they
crucified Him. Three words in Greek used to
describe this enormously horrendous event. And I don’t want to undo
what scripture seems to do, but I do want to paint a bit of a
picture of this crucifixion. It is well been said, as one
put it, that the person who crucified died a thousand deaths. Large
nails were driven through hands and feet. Among the horrors of
which one suffered while suspended in this manner were the following. Severe inflammation, the swelling
of the wounds in the region of the nails, unbearable pain from
the torn tendons, fearful discomfort at the positioning of the body.
Crucifixion, it is recorded, was the most agonizing, rather,
and shameful form of execution ever devised. But the physical pain that Jesus
endured was just a glimpse of what He endured in taking on
the sin of the world. He was crucified between two
criminals, which is a gross injustice. And they probably thought that
they were being cute to put Jesus in the middle. But it fulfilled scripture. Isaiah 53, 12 said he was numbered
with the transgressors. Yet he himself bore the sin of
many. Jesus showed us on the cross,
first and foremost, a heart of compassion. In the midst of just unbelievable
pain and unbelievable burden that he was preparing to bear
there on the cross, his thought wasn’t for himself, it was for
these women. that had come out for pain to
mourn Him. And Jesus turns it around and
says, weep for yourselves. Repent. We come to a Savior. We come to a Savior who has more
compassion for us than we could ever work ourselves up for Him
or for others. But there’s more to the heart
of the Lord Jesus Christ than compassion. We come to the next
glimpse. Not only is his heart a heart
of compassion, it is a heart of forgiveness. Luke records four kinds of mistreatment
that Jesus received there at the cross. The people just stood
watching him, which was abuse enough. The rulers ridiculed
him, the soldiers mocked him, and the robber blasphemed him.
We pick it up in verse 34. In the midst of all of this,
the mocking, the ridicule, the blasphemy, Jesus was saying,
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
There’s an old saying that says, as soon as the blood of the great
sacrifice began to flow, the great high priest began to intercede. Jesus took up the office of intercessor
even while he was laying down his life on our behalf. He was numbered with the transgressors,
Isaiah 53, 12, yet he himself bore the sin of many and interceded
for the transgressors. One Puritan said it this way,
we must be aware of supposing that ignorance is not blameworthy. It’s not that Jesus said, you
know what, look, this is no big deal, or wipe out all their sin. That’s not what he’s saying. We must be aware of supposing
that ignorance is not blameworthy and that ignorant persons deserve
to be forgiven their sins. All spiritual ignorance is more
or less culpable. It is part of man’s sin that
if he does not know better, that he does not know better than
he does. In other words, ignorance is no excuse. But we cannot fail
to observe in scripture that sins of ignorance are less sinful
before God than sins of knowledge. What Jesus says here, he says,
our Lord’s meaning appears to be that those who crucified him
did not at the time know the full amount of the wickedness
they were committing. They knew that they were crucifying
the one whom they regarded as an imposter. They did not know
that they were actually crucifying their own Messiah, the Son of
God. And for that, Jesus pleads on
their behalf. Jesus doesn’t say, wipe out all
their sins. He just says, don’t hold this
against them. Don’t hold the injustices that
they’re committing against me, and that this crucifixion and
this mocking, this false trial, this blasphemy, don’t hold these
against them. But the question comes up, who
is Jesus referring to when he says them? Forgive them. And there were some strong opinions.
Listen to one. who said this cannot refer to
the Roman soldiers, who are doing no more than their duty in executing
a sentence which had been pronounced by a competent authority. Well,
we challenged that last week. We challenged that several times
in the last several weeks. That, look, this was a trial. It was unjust from the start.
And they cannot possibly be carrying out a just sentence. He goes on and says it was the
Jews, especially the Jewish hierarchy, who were responsible for what
was being done. It was a collaboration. It wasn’t
just the Jews. The Jews couldn’t put him to
death. It did take both parties. Because
of that, as one said, the prayer was uttered not only for the
Roman soldiers, who were mere instruments of the executors,
but also for all of his enemies. And that is the truth. Look at
it. First of all, them refers to the soldiers. It includes
the soldiers that are mentioned throughout this section including
here. John gives a fuller treatment
of the division of Jesus’ garments as Luke will go on. They cast
lots dividing up his garments among themselves. One of the
most abusive and shameful things that you can imagine. They stripped
what little he had and they rolled the dice to see who could keep
a portion of his garments. One recorded, what a picture
this gives us of the fact that Jesus was now robbed of everything,
robbed of his honor, robbed of his followers, his life, now
in the stranglehold of death, and even the last remnant of
his earthly possessions, his clothing. Psalm 22 records it, and this
is exactly where John and his gospel ends up. That this division
of Christ’s garments was a fulfillment of Scripture. I can count all
my bones, verse 17, they look, they stare at me, they divide
my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Luke,
again, will go on to mention the soldiers. The soldiers were
the object of Christ’s prayer. No doubt, the soldiers mocked
coming up, offering him sour wine. Forgive them, Father, for
they know not what they do. It included the soldiers. It
also included the people. Remember the people? We wanted to judge them as innocent,
because Luke paints them relatively in an innocent light. The people
stood by looking on. That’s it. How can that be wrong? But both
Mark and Matthew suggest that the people were not innocent.
Mark says that the bystanders mocked him by saying that he
was calling out for Elijah. Matthew is even more graphic
saying that those passing by mocked him. It was for the people
that Jesus said, Father, forgive them. Luke allowed the people to kill Luke. You see the red lights, you pull
up on the line of cars, it stretches for miles, you finally pull up,
somebody who’s rear-ended somebody else, and everybody, everybody,
the guy in front of you, right? And if that wasn’t abusive enough,
then they were entering in also. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, end, so far as they thought,
over Jesus. What they wanted is to rub Jesus’
face in. They wanted to mock Him, and
they gloated over their supposed victory. And it also refers to
Pilate. When Jesus says, Father, forgive
them, it referred to the soldiers, it referred to the people, it
referred to the Jewish hierarchy, and it referred to Pilate. Pilate
could not possibly have known the extent of what he was doing.
But it’s interesting in verse 38, when Pilate pinned this little
inscription above Jesus’ head, this is the King of the Jews.
John 19 says that it was Pilate that did this. This crowd that looked on Christ
These soldiers that mocked him, this Jewish hierarchy, even Pilate,
are all the objects, the subjects, really, of Jesus’ prayer. Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do. J.C. Ryle said, Let us see. In
our Lord’s intercession for those who crucified Him, one more proof
of His infinite love to sinners. The Lord Jesus is indeed most
pitiful, most compassionate, most gracious. None are too wicked
for Him to care for. None are too far gone in sin
for His almighty heart to take interest. in their souls. The vilest of sinners have no
cause to be afraid of appealing to a Savior like this. Did you come today thinking that
maybe God’s done with you? Did you come today maybe thinking,
I really don’t deserve to be there? There aren’t any who deserve to be here. not in
and of ourselves, but because of this forgiving heart of the
Savior, who looked at each one of us and cried out as the great
intercessor, Father, forgive them, we wouldn’t be here. The heart of the Lord Jesus revealed
in His words at the cross are not only a heart of compassion
and a heart of forgiveness, but thirdly, a heart of mercy. Look
at verse 39. One of the criminals who was
hanged there was hurling abuse at him, saying, Are you not the
Christ? Save yourself and us! But the other answered, rebuking
him, said, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the
same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly,
for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this
man has done nothing wrong. Nothing wrong. Simple words. It is a statement of innocence,
a statement of righteousness, if you will, but it’s very soft.
Very mild. Not only has Jesus not sinned,
he hasn’t done anything wrong. Nothing amiss. Nothing out of
place. And when you hear that, that
little line that the thief on the cross utters gives thought
to the idea that he had either seen Jesus in action or heard
enough about Him to be able to give this kind of testimony.
He hadn’t done anything wrong. As one said, the robber knew
that he had only a few hours to live. And therefore, his prayer
implies a belief in a future state in which Jesus is to receive
him into his kingdom. This is an amazing prayer. Listen
to this in verse 42. Jesus, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. Now, we saw last week, first
he rebuked his fellow prisoner, then he acknowledges his own
guilt, then he rightly esteems Jesus as innocent, and at last
he repents by appealing to Christ merely to remember him. The theology of the underlying
prayer has been famously noted. Listen to what this man believes
just by what he prayed. The soul of man lives on past
the death of the body. There is life after death, and
either reward or blessing. A reward of blessing or punishment,
rather. Thirdly, that Jesus, even doubtlessly
tortured here, was rightfully a king. The man believed that. Fourthly, that the kingdom was
in a much better place. It was not of this world. And
finally, that Jesus would share that kingdom. Otherwise, why
ask? And Jesus’ response to him is
so simple. And these are among every believer’s
most favorite words in all of scripture. Truly, I say to you,
today you shall be with me in paradise. Not, and as some really
poor translations have rendered it, I say to you today that robs
it of all of its meaning. But I say to you today, this
very day, You will be with me in paradise. That one line obliterates
the unbiblical Catholic teaching about purgatory. Obliterates
it. Jesus tells him that both he and the robber are going to
die that very day, and that he grants him far beyond. Beyond all that we ask or think,
right? Far beyond what he’d been asked. He just asked Jesus to remember
him. Jesus says, remember you? Today you will be with me in
paradise. By that use of the word, Jesus
assures that repentant thief on the cross that he’s going
to do far more than remember him at some unknown time in the
future. That very day, Jesus would have
him with him in the paradise of Paris, in heaven itself. The thief on the cross asked
for something in the distant future. He’s promised a blessing
that very day. The thief on the cross merely
asked to be remembered. Jesus says, you’re going to be
with me for eternity. Luke’s Gospel continues. It was
now about the sixth hour and darkness fell over the whole
land until the ninth hour, about noon. Because the sun was obscured,
the sun, it was believed, failed. Was there a simple eclipse? We
don’t know. We do know it was a miracle.
One describes the scene this way, it is difficult to imagine
any miraculous sign better calculated to arrest the attention of all
people and to strike awe into the minds than this sudden and
unexpected darkness. What did it mean? How did it
register to them? The darkness clearly indicated
judgment, the judgment of God upon our sins. This punishment
was born by Jesus so that he, as our substitute, suffered most
intense agony, indescribable woe, terrible isolation, and
as always, darkness in scripture is symbolical of judgment. There was another sign that was
given, another miraculous sign, as Jesus Passes. It says in verse 45,
the veil of the temple was torn into two. Matthew gives a much more fuller
description of that. It says, Behold, the veil of
the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook.
The rocks were split. The tombs were open. Many bodies
of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming
up out of the tombs. After his resurrection, they
entered the holy city and appeared to many. It was a dramatic day. Can you imagine the pitch blackness?
And now standing, if you are, as the priest, the temple and
the curtain there being torn at the very Holy of Holies, what
could it all mean? Except that they had just crucified
the Messiah. It’s interesting, if you go on
in the Book of Acts, Luke Volume 2, In Acts chapter 6, it records
an interesting statement. The word of God kept on spreading.
The number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem.
And a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the
faith. Do you think? There they are in the temple,
pitch black. All of a sudden, the temple curtain
that separates the holy of holies is torn in two. It was a miracle. It was another in a long line
of miracles. We don’t know exactly how it
happened, but it occurred the moment that Jesus died. Hebrews
chapter 10 records the scene. Therefore, for brethren, since
we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which he inaugurated through us, through
the veil that is his flesh, There is no longer a curtain separating
the holy of holies. We now can know God by way of
the Lord Jesus Christ. The significance of the sign
to those priests was the departure, the abject departure of the Shekinah
glory and presence of God in his now deserted temple. As one pastor said it, this miracle
must have been as striking and as terrible to the priests who
ministered in the cult as the darkness was to the inhabitants
of Palestine. This was shocking. It signified
the opening of the way into the holiest place by Jesus Christ’s
death, the passing away of the Jewish dispensation, and the
revelation of the gospel pardon me, the revelation of the gospel
way of salvation to all mankind. The heart of Jesus is revealed,
laid bare and open for us to understand. And there’s no ambiguity. There’s no question. Jesus heart is a heart of compassion. It is a heart of forgiveness.
It is a heart of mercy. But there’s one more. It’s a
heart of resolve. Look at verse 46. Verse 46 says, And Jesus, crying
out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit. Jesus didn’t die. He yielded up his spirit. And
then he died. Jesus yielded up his spirit,
and that little phrase is used over and over again in scripture.
Into your hand I commit my spirit. Psalm 31 5. They went on stoning,
Stephen took the lesson well and called on the Lord and said,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. First Peter 2 23, though, speaks
of Christ and what Christ did. that while being reviled he did
not revile in turn, while suffering he uttered no threats, but kept
entrusting himself to him who judges rightly.” When it was
time, Jesus entrusted his spirit fully and completely to God.
The Lord Jesus didn’t just die because his body said it was
time, but because he chose voluntarily of his own free will to submit
himself to death. And only then does Luke record
these words, having said this, he breathed his last. Jesus’ heart was a heart of resolve.
Jesus was resolved to die. Jesus was resolved to die for
you and I. Jesus was resolved and John’s
Gospel puts the capstone on it in 1930 when it says, It is finished. I don’t believe those words precede
even the words in Luke’s Gospel. It is finished. Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit.” As we bow before the Lord in
a moment, you know Him. And those of you who don’t know
Him, you’ve heard of Him. That the Savior, our Savior,
for those of us who know Him, we know Him as a Savior with
a heart of compassion. Who sees our lost estate and
pities us in our foolishness and sinfulness. The heart of
our Savior is a heart of forgiveness that died for the very privilege
of saving sinners. He wants to give you that forgiveness. The heart of the Lord Jesus Christ
is merciful and without mercy there would be none to stand
before Him. The heart of Jesus Christ is
a heart of resolve. He would not give up until his
mission was fully complete. And by his own words, he said,
it is finished. Let’s examine our hearts before
this Savior. Our merciful God, we humble ourselves
before you. And Lord, as we Woefully considered
these past several weeks. What would we have been like
if we were at the cross? Father a more important question
is having seen who you are at the cross What is our response
to you now? Lord we cannot continue to wallow
in our sin and To claim that there is no help for me If we
have sinned, and we have all sinned, the only help for sinners
is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see that so clearly in
His heart revealed there on the cross. God, open the eyes of
the blind this morning. Bring to humility and to repentance
and to faith any in our midst Who do not know this Savior. To Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.