Jesus and his disciples have come to Jerusalem for Passover. For three years, Jesus has tried to teach them, by his words and example, what it means to live fully in God's Kingdom. Thursday finds Jesus and friends gathered in an upper room to share the bread and wine; the words Jesus uses were strange to them, familiar to us. On Friday, Jesus is scourged and shamed, then nailed to a cross. With his final breath, Jesus continues to encourage his disciples. Hear these words from the Cross!
"FATHER FORGIVE THEM for they don't know what they're doing!"
The first words of Jesus from the cross are words of forgiveness. God, don't hold this crime against them. God, show mercy to every one gathered here, the Jews who hate me, the Romans who drove the nails through my hands and feet, the crowd who allowed this crime to happen. The Christians who first read the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion would have preferred that these words had not been recorded. Yet, here they are! Jesus' first words from the cross. Forgiveness is where life begins. When we forgive the person who has hurt us, has used us, and has wronged us, we begin to live as God wants us to live! Forgiving another is never easy; it wasn't easy for Jesus. But forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door to a re-newed life!
"TODAY, you shall be with me in Paradise!" Jesus is speaking to a man on one of the other crosses. Two thieves; common criminals. Neither had ever done a decent thing for anyone. One thief raged against society and against Jesus: "If you're so powerful, get us out of this mess." He showed no regret for his crimes; he saw no need to repent, or say he was sorry. The other thief was repentant; he turned to Jesus for forgiveness, and received it.
He also received a personal invitation from Jesus to enter Heaven with Him.
"WOMAN, behold your son; son behold your mother." Just like Jesus. Always thinking about the welfare of others, even when he was hanging on the cross! Jesus wanted to be sure his mother was taken care of after his death. He entrusts her care to the disciple he loves. This has been the trademark of Christians: "See how much they love one another!"
"MY GOD, MY GOD, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus is in pain!
Extreme pressure on the nerve endings; immense strain on the heart; the feeling that he has been forsaken, even by his God! So, Jesus cries out.
The hymnist writes: "We do not know. We cannot tell what pain He had to bear. But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there." Jesus bravely bore the pain for sinners like you and me!
"I THIRST!" Jesus had gone without water for several days; his body was crying out for fluids. All he got was a sip of vinegar-water. There was no one there to give Jesus so much as a cup of cool water to ease the pain in his fevered body.
"FATHER, into your hands I give up my life!" Jesus has come to the end of his rope, the end of the line, the end of his physical life. Now, just as he has always committed his daily living to God, Jesus commits his death to God. For Jesus knows that God can be trusted to bring him safely through the valley of death to those Heavenly shores!
"IT'S FINISHED!" Jesus died! There on that cruel cross, in plain sight of sinners like you and me. He died! Forsaken and alone. Exhausted by the pain. Trusting his Heavenly Father to the very end. It's finished! And everybody thought that they had seen the last of this trouble-maker, this Jesus. So, everyone left and went back to business as usual. Even those who loved Jesus the most saw the grave as final. It's finished!
There are times when we think that Good Friday is the end of the story. Thank God the story has a resurrection ending! Still, the words of Jesus should cause us to reflect on our own sinful life, and on our part in the crucifixion. We still have a lot of living in front of us. Let's live life well!
-- Dr. Don Kuehle is a retired United Methodist minister who lives in Jackson. Opinions are those of the author.
Religion on 03/30/2017