First Words from the Empty Tomb

For the past 6 weeks we have been looking at the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross. It would not have been easy for Jesus to speak while hanging from the cross. The physical exertion needed to say anything would have been great, so that Jesus spoke not once or twice, but 7 times tells us that these words, or statements really, were both important for him to share and for us to hear. Now some of these final words were prayer:


Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
My God, my God why have you forsaken me?
Into your hands I commit my spirit.

Some statements were words of forgiveness offered to sinners:
Today you will be with me in paradise.

Some words were definitive statements that revealed not only the purpose and the passion of Jesus but God’s direction for our lives.
Behold your son, behold your mother – told us that God wants us to take care of each other as if we are family.
I thirst – tells us that we need to use our hands to help provide water to those who are thirsty.

The final word, it is finished, told us that the work of Jesus on the cross, which was to forgive us of sin and bring us back into a relationship with God, was completed.

Now if those were truly the final words of Jesus then we wouldn’t be here today. If the words Jesus spoke from the cross were the final words we ever heard from him, then his death would have been like any other death, but what we heard from the gospel of John this morning was that the final words from the cross were not Jesus’ final words. Three days after Jesus died and was laid in a tomb, three days after they sealed the tomb with a stone they found the stone rolled away and not only did Jesus appear to his disciples but he once again spoke to them. What we celebrate today is that after the final words from the cross there were some first words that Jesus shared with us after he rose from the dead and left behind an empty tomb. So today, and for the next couple weeks, we are going to explore some of these first words and what they teach us.

If we put all of the resurrection stories found in the gospels together side by side, we would find that the very first words of Jesus after he rose from the grave are found in the gospel of John. After Jesus died on the cross his body was taken down and laid into a tomb. Because it was close to the Jewish Sabbath, they were not able to properly prepare Jesus body for its final burial, so on the first day of the week, after the Sabbath was over, women went to prepare Jesus body for its final burial. One of those women was Mary Magdalene and when she found the stone rolled away she ran to get the rest of Jesus’ disciples.

At this point, Mary didn’t know what was going on, she just knew that someone had disturbed the tomb. All the disciples ran to the tomb certain that Mary had gotten it wrong, but when they arrive they find the tomb empty. At this point all they know for sure is that Jesus was not there. While all the disciples returned home, Mary stayed in the garden. She was distraught. She loved Jesus and while it had been painful for her to watch him suffer and die it was more than she could bear to think that his body had been taken and she would never know where.

Because of her grief and pain Mary stands there weeping and her heart and mind are so confused that she didn’t recognize Jesus when he first appeared. Jesus approaches her and asks, Why are you weeping? And there it is… the first words of Jesus. After rising from the dead and defeating death itself, after rolling away a stone and leaving behind an empty tomb the first word of Jesus is - why are you weeping? Think about it… Jesus has just defeated sin and death. He has just rolled back a stone and emerged victorious from the grave and while I would have shouted and screamed in victory to the entire world, look what I just did, Jesus doesn’t do that. His first word was a simple question asked of a woman he cared for and knew was in pain.

In this first word, Jesus does two things; first he shows us that he is here for us. Jesus doesn’t rise from the dead and then disappear, he comes to us and when he does come he shows us that he not only sees what’s going on in our lives but he cares about it. Jesus looks at Mary and sees that she is weeping, he sees that she is upset and confused and broken hearted. Jesus notices what is going in her life and he reaches out to ask her what’s wrong.

So the first word of Jesus from an empty tomb doesn’t just tell us that God is with us, it tells us that God sees what is going on in our lives. Jesus stands with us today and sees what we are going through. Just as Jesus saw the pain and heartache of Mary’s life, God sees the pain, heartache and brokenness of our lives. Whatever it is we might be going through today, whatever pain we may be experiencing, whatever shattered dream, failure, and unexpected setback we may be struggling with – Jesus sees it and he stands beside us and asks, why are you weeping? Even though he already knows the answer he asks us anyway which not only shows us that he cares, it gives us the opportunity to share with him the fullness of our lives.

Maybe this first word reveals to us the real power of Easter. While we shout Christ is risen and sing about the victory of Jesus over the grave and proclaim the power of God over all the forces of the world, maybe the real power of this day and the real power of the resurrection is that God comes to us right where we are and asks us, “Why are weeping?” “What’s going on?” “What are we looking for?” Can we quiet our own hearts and lives today to share these things with God? Why are we weeping? What is it that is breaking our hearts? And what are we looking for in life? What are the hopes and dreams we have for our lives and our children and our community and world? Are we willing to share all this with Jesus today – he is alive and with us and he still wants to know what is going on.

So the first word of Jesus from the empty tomb tells us that God cares about what is going on in our lives. God meets us where we are and asks us what is going on in our hearts and lives, but then there is a second word, a powerful word that literally opens Mary’s eyes and heart. Jesus says to her, Mary! Jesus calls her by name and when that personal connection is made, Mary’s eyes and heart are opened. The good news of Easter is that God still knows our name. While the resurrection of Jesus opened the door for the world to enter into the presence of God, we can never forget that God calls each of us personally into that relationship.

Our faith has to be a personal commitment to God. We aren’t followers of Jesus because our parents or grandparents went to church and we aren’t Christians because we live in what some call a Christian nation; we have to be willing to make a personal commitment to turn and follow Jesus. When one of the first words of Jesus from the empty tomb is to call Mary by name it reminds us that God calls each of us by name because he wants each of us to enter into a relationship of faith and trust and love with Him.

I remember when I did this. While I grew up going to church every Sunday and even led my church youth group for 2 years, sang in the choir and taught children’s Sunday School all while I was still in High School, it wasn’t until I went to college that I realized that I needed to make this faith my own. I had learned a lot about Jesus growing up, like all of us today, I sat and heard the stories about how Jesus died and rose again and I believed them to be true, but I didn’t really know what it meant for me and I didn’t accept the love and grace of Jesus for myself.

When I went to college I heard God in a different way calling my name. I don’t know that I ever heard an audible, Andy, but God opened my eyes and my heart to the power of his love. God showed me that, yes, I was a sinner and that on my own I was never going to be good enough, but then he showed me how through the cross there was forgiveness for my sin. And how through the power of God I could become more than I ever thought or imagined. Through times of prayer and worship and study and fellowship I knew I needed to make this story of Jesus resurrection my own story. I realized that Jesus didn’t just call Mary by name, He was calling me by name and I needed to respond.

Today God continues to call us all by name. None of us are here by accident; we are here because for whatever reason we have chosen to be here. Now it may have been a choice you made to make your spouse happy or to get your parents off your back, but that’s ok, you are still here and the Easter story tells us that God is here and that Jesus is alive and that one of his first words from the empty tomb is to call each of us by name.

You may also be here today because you are here each and every week. You may have attended worship your entire life but today might still be the day you will hear Jesus call you by name. Sometimes it takes a while for us to hear God’s voice. Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first, it took her some time. I was active in church for 20 years before I really heard God’s voice and so today might be our day. The good news is that God is persistent and keeps after us. So today may be the day we hear Jesus call us by name and today may be the day we respond and enter into a deeper relationship with God.

If that is your desire today, I would invite you to follow through on the next steps we provide in the bulletin. Take some time this week to reflect on what is going on in your life and pray the prayer we have provided for you. Make this faith your own and then prepare yourself for what God has in store for you – because God has a purpose and plan for your life. You see that is what we also find in these first words.

After Jesus calls Mary by name, look at what he says to here, this is from John 20:17. While this might seem like a simple request, go and give a message to the disciples, it is so much more than that. When Jesus asks Mary to go and tell his disciples that he is alive, he is sending her off as the very first evangelist. Mary is the very first person to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus entrusted the message of his resurrection to a person who at that time was considered to be second class. Women were not leaders then. Women were not teachers and preachers and yet by choosing a woman to be the first to proclaim the good news of his resurrection Jesus is saying that not only does every life have value and worth but every person has a purpose. Can I say that again? The first words of Jesus from the empty tomb tell us that every life has value and worth and every person has a purpose.

Ever life today has value and worth. We need to hear this today because there are too many out there saying that we don’t. Whether it is bullying in school or the harsh and critical tone we find on facebook and twitter or the constant negative focus of politics and the media, we live in a world that consistently tries to put others down – but the first words of Jesus lifted Mary up. By asking her to share the message of his resurrection he made it clear that all life has value and that everyone has a purpose.

You have a purpose. God has a purpose for your life. That purpose might be to be the best father or mother you can be to your children. Your purpose right now might be serving the needs of your aging parents or friends who are going through difficult situations. It might be to work hard at your job and improve your business, school or work place. It might be use the creative and unique gifts and talents God has given to you for his pleasure and glory. You have a purpose. No matter what age you are, not matter what stage you are in life, no matter how much money you have or what your family status is, you have a purpose and God is calling you today to step up and fulfill that purpose.

In Jeremiah 29:11 God tells us clearly that he has a purpose for our lives. If we question whether or not we have a reason for being, we need to go back to this verse – God has a plan for us. God wants us to see this truth so he makes sure that one of the first words from Jesus after his resurrection is make that clear. “Mary, he says, “you have a purpose.” In fact, one of the things we will see from many of the first words of Jesus from an empty tomb is that God has a very real purpose and plan for all of our lives.

Now many of you may be asking yourself right now, what is my purpose? What is the purpose God has for my life? I can’t answer that for you, but I can tell you how to find it. It’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone else ok – if you want to find your God given purpose – ask God. Seriously, ask God. That is what God says; look at Jeremiah 29:12-14.

To find our purpose we need to search for God – isn’t that what Mary did. She didn’t return home when she found the tomb empty, she stayed in the garden hoping to find someone or something that would lead her to Jesus. She stayed, she searched, she asked questions and she found her answers. We have to be willing to ask God what our purpose is and then take some time to listen. We seem to have the asking part down well, but the listening part is hard. It’s hard to be patient and wait. It’s hard to quiet our lives and hearts enough to hear God’s voice. It takes time but Mary shows us – it’s worth it.

After I made this faith my own I started to pray and ask God to show me the purpose of my life. I was about 20 years old then and it wasn’t until I was 29 that I finally discovered that it was to work in the local church. It took me nine years of searching! I share that to let you know that for all of us, it takes time. The journey itself is important and worthwhile which is good because discovering our purpose doesn’t come in an instant. God doesn’t use text or twitter, it is not instant message or complete in 140 characters – it takes time and struggle and prayer and the help of others, but if we search for it – we will find it.

The first word of Jesus from the empty tomb finds us right where we are today. It shows us that God is with us and cares about us no matter what we are going through but it also shows us that God has more for us in life. God knows us by name and he has shaped us and gifted us for a purpose. May today be the day we hear these first words of Jesus. May today be the day we hear God call us by name and find in that the first word all the grace, peace and hope we need for life.



Next Steps Easter 2013
First Words from an Empty Tomb

1. The first words of Jesus from an empty tomb were simple questions.
• Why are you weeping?
• What are you looking for?

Take time this week to share your answers with God.

2. Respond to God when He calls your name. Use this prayer to go deeper into your personal relationship with God.
“God, today I hear you calling my name and I desire to make your life my own. Thank you for the forgiveness and grace I find in your death and the power of new life I find in your resurrection. Help me to accept you as my Savior and to follow you as my Lord today and every day. Draw me deeper into a relationship with you so I may hear your voice and experience more of your mercy and love. AMEN”


3. Memorize Jeremiah 29:11 (with your name inserted).
• Ask God to show you His purpose for your life.
• Begin to act on it when you find it.


I know the plans I have for you,                
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.

Empty Promises

The tomb was empty and the message of Easter is that God’s promises come to us through emptiness. I’m not talking about empty promises, that’s what the world gives us, I’m talking about promises of God that come to us through all the emptiness seen and experienced on that first Easter.


Did you ever think that as Mary made her way to the tomb early in the morning that she might have seen or maybe walked right by the empty cross? John 19:41-42. The place where Jesus was buried was not far from the cross, so it was maybe right by the cross that Mary and the disciples had to walk to get to the tomb. They may have tried hard not to look at the cross or even the place where the cross had stood, but it would have been almost impossible for them to not see it. The empty cross or at least the posts on which the cross beams had been placed were still standing.

At the top of the post would have been the blood which came from the crown of thorns which pressed into Jesus’ brow, maybe that crown was lying on the ground. The whole length of the post may have been smeared with blood from Jesus’ back, a back which had been torn to shreds as he was flogged and beaten before the crucifixion. At the bottom of the post would have been the blood that flowed from his feet, maybe the nails were still laying there. Even the ground around the cross would have been stained with blood, blood from his hands which fell to the ground, blood from his side as the soldier pierced his side to see if he was in fact dead. The blood stains would have still been visible on that first Easter morning. The cross stood empty and it was a clear reminder that Jesus really did die.

As Mary woke early that morning she would have had to remind herself that everything she had seen was not a dream, it was in fact a painful and cruel death. They wouldn’t have taken Jesus off the cross if he wasn’t dead. When they took him down, the soldiers knew he was dead, the bystanders knew he was dead, the religious leaders who wanted him dead knew he was dead, the disciples knew he was dead and Mary knew he was dead. The empty cross that Mary passed early Sunday morning reminded her that Jesus died. The empty cross reminds us that Jesus died but it also reminds us that we are forgiven, because that’s why Jesus died. It is through the death of Jesus that our sins are wiped away.

No one likes to talk about sin. None of us likes to admit that we are sinners, but sin is real, sin is universal and the consequences of sin are real too. Look at Romans 3:10-12, 23 and Romans 6:23a. Just like Adam and Eve, we have made our own decisions and followed our own desires and the consequence of those decisions and our sin is death – eternal separation from God. We are guilty, death, but because God loves us so much he was willing to send Jesus to die in our place. God was willing to take the punishment for our sin upon himself so that we might live. We are guilty of sin but over the guilty verdict of our lives God has written in the blood of Jesus over and over again – FORGIVEN.

The first promise we see in emptiness is the promise of forgiveness in the empty cross. God forgives us – not because we have earned it and not because we deserve it. God forgives us simply because he loves us. The empty cross is the sign of God’s promise to forgive.

The second empty promise of Easter is the empty grave. When the women got to the tomb the stone was rolled away – the tomb was empty. Jesus was gone. Now there are some who think the women went to the wrong tomb. Because of their grief, pain and confusion they just when to the wrong place, after all it was early in the morning and still dark. Of course the problem with that theory is that once word spread about the empty tomb the disciples raced there to check it out and they would have gone to the right tomb. Someone would have made sure they went to the right place and if the disciples all somehow got it wrong, as news of Jesus spread the Roman officials and religious leaders would have doubled checked to make sure. They wanted Jesus dead so they would have checked the tomb out for themselves and corrected any mistakes there may have been, but since no one stepped forward to correct the disciples – we know they all had the right tomb and the tomb was empty.

Some people thought the tomb was empty because the Romans took Jesus body for safe keeping, but again if that were true, if the Romans or the religious leaders had taken the body, then as the story of Jesus resurrection spread they would have produced the body to stop the story. There were still others that said the disciples took the body. Well, beside the fact that the tomb was sealed and guarded, why would the disciples steal the body and then be willing to die for something they knew to be a lie.

The disciples didn’t steal the body of Jesus, the Roman government didn’t steal the body, the Jewish leaders didn’t steal the body and it was the right tomb the women went to early that morning which all means one thing - the tomb was empty. Jesus is alive. The resurrection of Jesus tells us that death itself has been defeated and because Jesus is alive the we can live also. In book of Revelation Jesus says, do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last. I am the living One. I was dead and behold I am alive forever and ever and I hold the keys of hell & death. The empty grave stands as the promise of eternal life for all of us. The empty grave is the lasting promise that death has lost its power. Death could not hold Jesus and the grave cannot hold those who trust in Jesus. Yes, the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. The empty cross reminds us of God’s promise to forgive – the empty tomb reminds us of God’s gift of eternal life for all who trust in Jesus.

The third promise found in emptiness is perhaps the most powerful of all. It’s the promise we find in the empty grave clothes. Look at John 20:6-7. When Jesus rose from the dead, the shroud or grave clothes that had held him remained in the tomb and all of them except the covering of his head were undisturbed. The empty grave clothes means that the body of Jesus is up and walking around. The resurrected Jesus was not a ghost, he was not a spirit, Jesus himself was alive and present with his friends. He was there to continue his relationship with them. Mary sees him, hears him and touches him. In time all the disciples will see him, hear him, walk with him and eat with him. The empty grave clothes promise us that an ongoing relationship with Jesus is possible.

It’s not just the knowledge of forgiveness or the hope of eternal life which we celebrate today, we also celebrate the truth that Jesus is alive here and now and calls us into a deeper relationship with him. One of the promises of Easter we don’t hear as much about is this promise of relationship. A relationship with God thru Jesus is possible if we will accept it.

The best of life is experienced in this relationship with God and the promise of the empty grave clothes is that through Jesus we can enter into that relationship. We can know God through Jesus. We can experience God and have a relationship with God thru Jesus. We can experience life in all its fullness, in all its purpose, it all its power when we are willing to walk with, listen to and open our lives up to Jesus. The empty grave clothes promise us that if we give our lives to God – God will enter into the fullness of life with us.

So in the emptiness of Easter we see three powerful promises, the promise of forgiveness, the promise of eternal life and the promise of a relationship with God right here and now. An empty cross tells us that Jesus did die and through his death we are forgiven, an empty tomb tells us that death has been defeated and we have the hope of eternal life, and the empty grave clothes tell us that Jesus is alive and here with us today. They are the promises we see in emptiness but they are not empty promises so let us claim them as ours today and everyday so that we may experience the joy of life.

Final Words ~ Into Your Hands...

If you have been following along through the final words series you probably noticed that there was one word that we have not heard yet, it is only found in the gospel of Luke and tonight is the night I want us to hear this final word. Luke 23:44-46.


This was Jesus’ final prayer to God. As we have seen, several of Jesus final words were actually prayers. There was his first word, Father forgive them, there was his cry for mercy, My God my God, why have you forsaken me, and now there is a final prayer, into your hands I commit my spirit. Not only was this a prayer to God, but like many of Jesus other final words and prayers, it was also a quotation of scripture. This final prayer comes from Psalm 31:1-5.

Looking at Jesus words in the context of the psalm we see that this is not Jesus giving up but once again giving himself over to his father. This is a prayer of faith and trust in God. Even in this moment of death, Jesus was looking to God to be his rock of refuge and a strong fortress to save. This is a final prayer of complete and utter faith in God the Father. There are those who believe that Psalm 31 was a nightly prayer taught to children by their parents, much the way we might teach our children to pray, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…” So if this was a prayer taught to children, in a moment of incredible pain and anguish Jesus is holding on to the most basic foundation of his faith. The simple truths we learn as children.

When I was in seminary I spent a summer working as a chaplain at a nursing home and I was responsible for 2 floors of Alzheimer’s patients. It was amazing to see that while their memories deteriorated – the basic truths they learned as children remained. When we would gather for worship services each week the people couldn’t focus on a sermon, but they could all sing Jesus loves me. And while most of the scriptures I read seemed to just pass right over them, when I read Psalm 23 many would say it along with me – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. We remember the basic truths we learn as children. We remember those simple prayers we said at bedtime or mealtime and the same is true with Jesus. He remembered the simple prayers Mary and Joseph taught him as a child and in his darkest moment, that is what he prayed. Father, in your hands I commit my spirit.

It might be a simple prayer of faith and trust, but it is also a powerful prayer because Jesus is teaching us that in our darkest moments we can continue to trust God. When everything seems lost and hopeless, we can trust God. When we are facing the reality of sin and sorrow, fear and failure, we can place our lives into the hands of God. I have spent some time this week reading and reflecting on the cloth we have been writing on and I have to say I have been both overwhelmed and encouraged. I have been overwhelmed because there is great pain and sorrow and brokenness and sin that we all struggle with. I saw words on that cloth that reflected my own heart and life and I saw words that filled me with compassion for those who are struggling to find forgiveness and freedom. I hope you will maybe take a moment tonight to not only add your brokenness and sin to the cloth, but take a moment to read and reflect on what you see. Don’t read the words with judgment, read them with compassion. There are people among us who are struggling and wrestling with sin and we need to be praying for one another and encouraging one another.

But something else struck me as I reflected on those words; they were all written by people who have been here this week for worship. They were all written by people who are striving to do what Jesus did in this moment on the cross - place their hearts and lives into the hands of God. That encourages me. That inspires me. That fills me with hope. While we are a broken people – we are a broken people of faith who trust God in the darkness of our lives. While we are sinners, we are sinners who seek forgiveness every day. We pray, Father into your hands we commit our spirits. When we face the challenge of sickness or sin, we pray, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. When we face what seem to be impossible situation or insurmountable obstacle we pray, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. When things at work, at home or in relationships are outside of our control we pray, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. When we just don’t know where to turn we pray, Father into your hands I commit my spirit.


I want to invite you tonight to just do that. I want to invite you to close your eyes and think about the sin that seems too strong to overcome, the problems that seem to have no answer, that desperate situations that really seems to have no hopeful outcome. In a time of silence I want to invite you to just reflect on those situations, place them into your hands and then in a moment I will invite us to pray this prayer of Jesus of Jesus
Father into your hands… I commit my spirit… Amen.

Now this was not just a prayer for Jesus at the end of his life, this was a statement about how Jesus lived his life. I want to take you back to the very beginning of Jesus ministry. Jesus was taken into the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and then he was tempted by Satan. What Satan tempted Jesus to do was to follow his own path instead of the path of God. Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones to bread in order to meet his own physical needs. He tempted Jesus to test God’s love for him by jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple and allowing angels to catch him, and he tempted Jesus to turn away from His father to gain all the wealth, power and glory of this world, and every time, Jesus said no. What Jesus was doing in the wilderness was placing his life into the hands of God. In essence, Jesus was praying, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. He was saying, God I am going to live my life your way and for your glory and according to your will. And that is exactly what Jesus did.

Jesus’ life was a reflection of God’s life. His life was a reflection of God’s love and mercy and nowhere was that more clearly seen than in the work of Jesus’ hands during the 24 hours leading up to this final prayer. The first thing we heard tonight was that Jesus hands washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus took the form of a household servant and willingly washed the dirty, smelly feet of his friends. What the hands of Jesus are doing here is just a reflection of God’s hands. God picks us up out of the muck and mire of our lives and cleans us off, look at Psalm 40:1-2.

Out of the miry bog, out of the muck and mud and filth of our lives God lifts us up and cleans us off. So Jesus hands are reflecting the hands of God but then he says that they are also setting for us an example. Jesus said, I have set for you and example that you should do as I do. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples to show them how he wanted them to serve and love each other. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples to show us how he wants us to serve and love each other with our own hands. Who are those that need our hands to help lift them up? Who needs our hands to help clean them off? Who needs our love to help them know the value and worth that God sees in them?

Jesus hands didn’t just wash the disciples feet that night, it then went on to serve the disciples the Passover meal and offer them the bread and wine. Jesus hands lifted up the bread and the cup. Jesus hands shared the bread and the cup with his friends and when Jesus calls us to remember him in this meal it is a call to actually live out his life. The word remember doesn’t just mean to think about what Jesus did and recall in our minds his actions; it means to literally attach ourselves to Jesus or live the way he lived. While we most often think about communion as an opportunity to receive the grace and mercy of God, which it is!, it is also a meal where we commit ourselves once again to following the example of Jesus. When we receive from the hands of Jesus the bread and cup we are making a statement that we will allow our hands to serve those who are hungry and thirsty. Will we allow our hands and our lives to do this? Will we give to those in need? Will we give to those who are thirsty?

I am excited that our youth want their hands to do this. A few weeks ago in church some of our youth heard about those around the world who are thirsty and need clean water and they wanted to reach out to them and help. They have set up a display about how we can put our hands to work. It might mean giving money, it might be reaching out to family and friends and inviting them to give to clean water projects or it might be in giving up soda or other drinks for a week and giving that money to those who are thirsty. I don’t know how God is calling you to use your hands to provide food and water to those in need, but I hope we will be willing to do something. When we share in communion tonight we need to hear the cry of those who are thirsty around the world and when we accept Jesus – the living water we need to think about ways to get clean water and living water to those who thirst.

After Jesus hands served the Passover meal, they came together in prayer. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that the cup of suffering might pass from him. Jesus knew that he was being betrayed and that a trial was coming. Jesus knew that he would be condemned to die and so he asked God if there could be another way. Jesus’ hands reached out to God and pleaded for another way, any other way, but in the end – those hands were raised in surrender. They submitted to God’s will and purpose. But once again what we see is that Jesus hands weren’t just praying, they were setting for us an example.

Jesus specifically asked his disciples to pray with him. He wanted them lifting their hands to God with him and for him. He wanted them to watch and pray with him and Jesus still wants our hands working in prayer. Jesus wants us to pray for those things that break the heart of God. God wants us to pray for those who are weak and in need, those who are hopeless and living in despair. God wants us to pray for the strength to help change our world but ultimately God wants us to submit our hands to His will and purpose.

To pray, thy will be done, means that we are willing to place our own will into our hands and offer it up to God. We have to let go of our will, our desire, our need to be in control so that we can take up God’s will. This is a difficult prayer, but it is the prayer that Jesus calls us to pray. Not my will but thy will be done.

And then the very last thing we see the hands of Jesus do is carry a cross. Jesus takes his hands and picks up the hard and splintered wood of a cross and carries it to Golgotha. Once they arrive, Jesus hands are then laid out on that cross and nails are driven in. Jesus hands make the ultimate sacrifice. They give everything they have not for his own well-being but for the life and salvation of others. Again, these hands not only reflect the hands of God, but they set for us an example. Jesus said, if anyone wants to follow me, let them take up a cross. If we want to follow Jesus then we have to be willing to pick up a cross, our hands have to be willing to give and sacrifice and serve and reach out to others in an all out effort to bring them life and salvation.

The hands of Jesus in his last 24 hours reveal to us the hands of God. They lift us up and wash us clean. They serve us and offer us food and water. They pray for us and die for us so that we might be forgiven and so that we might live forever. Those are the hands of God reflected in Jesus and when he commits his hands into the hands of God he is saying to all of us – this is the way to live your life. This is the way to use your hands. Specifically Jesus is saying this to us tonight. 3 of the 4 stories we heard tonight about the hands of Jesus took place only with the disciples. Jesus’ hands only washed the disciples’ feet, his hands only served the disciples the bread and the cup and his hands only prayed with his disciples in the garden and when Jesus says that these are to be an example for us he was talking first and foremost to his disciples – to us.

This final word of Jesus isn’t just a prayer that Jesus may have learned as a child, and it isn’t just a quotation of scripture or a final reminder that Jesus placed his entire life faithfully into the hands of God, it is also a call for us as followers of Jesus to place our hearts and lives and the work of our hands into the hands of God.

I would invite you to do that tonight. Commit your heart and life to God. Commit your hands to the work of Jesus’ hands and pray with me, Father into your hands I commit my spirit.

Final Words ~ It Is Finished

Before we look at one of the final Final Words of Jesus from the Cross, let’s step back a few days. 5 days before Jesus was crucified he entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. As he rode into the city people ran before him and placed their coats on the ground while others waved palm branches in the air, and as Jesus passed by the people shouted, Hosanna in the Highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. While we call the day Palm Sunday, others call it the triumphal entry of Jesus and if we didn’t know any better it looks to us like a victory parade. This entire scene looks like an ancient version of a New York City ticker tape parade, or the Disney parade for the winning super bowl quarterback. While it’s clear that the people loved Jesus and shouted out his praise and waved palm branches in the air as a sign they would welcome him as their king, there’s a lot more going on here.


That Jesus chose to ride a donkey into the city tells us that he came to bring God’s victory but it was a victory that would come not through earthly strength and power, but through humility and sacrifice. And that Jesus chose this particular day to ride into the city also tells us something. The day Jesus chose for this parade was lamb selection day. It was the day people went out and purchased their lambs for the upcoming Passover sacrifice. So as Jesus entered the city he was coming as the Lamb of God whose blood would take away the sin of the people. So there is a lot more taking place here than a simple parade. This is more than a celebration. This is more than the people saying, hey we love Jesus. This was a religious and political statement by Jesus that upset the established order. In fact, this parade got the people of Jerusalem so worked up on both sides (his supporters and his adversaries) that tensions boiled over which eventually led Jesus to the cross.

While I always loved Palm Sunday as a kid because our church started worship outside and we all got to march into the sanctuary waving palm branches in the air (which really is fun when you are a kid) as I have gotten older I have realize that there is much more going on than what we see here, and the same is true for the cross.

Too many times we try to simplify what happened on the cross and explain it away in a sentence or two, but the reality is that there is a lot going on here. So when Jesus says “It is finished” it leads us to ask exactly what is finished? What has Jesus been doing on the cross? What has been the purpose of his suffering? Is Jesus just saying that his life is finished and that death is now imminent, or is there something more going on here? The truth is that just like there is a lot going on in the Palm Sunday parade, there is a lot going on here, in fact, John’s gospel alone gives us several explanations for what Jesus is accomplishing on the cross.

The first thing we hear about the work of Jesus on the cross is that his death was a sacrifice made as atonement for our sin. Just as a lamb was sacrificed in the Old Testament to make amends for the sins of the people and bring them back into a relationship with God, now Jesus is seen as the Lamb of God and it is his death on the cross that once and for all atones for our sin. Through Jesus we are now able to re-enter into a relationship with God. At the very beginning of John’s gospel it was John the Baptist who said that Jesus was the Lamb of God, and Jesus affirmed that statement when he entered into Jerusalem on lamb selection day before the Passover. John’s gospel made it very clear that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb because the crucifixion of Jesus takes place on the day of Passover. So it is clear that John is saying that Jesus’ death atones for our sin or that through Jesus we are forgiven by God and able to enter into a new and right relationship with God.

There are others who see Jesus’ death as more than a sacrifice of atonement; some see it as an actual substitution for our death. The Bible says that the wages or our sin, or the penalty for our sin, is death and someone has to pay that price, and so on the cross – Jesus paid that price. So we aren’t just forgiven by God, the penalty for our sin has actually been paid so that we don’t have to die. In other words, we have been redeemed. The sacrifice of Jesus buys us back from the grave and actually sets us free.

Jesus death is also seen as the supreme example of God’s love. John 3:16 God loves us so much that he is willing to have his own flesh and blood die in order that we might live. So the work of Jesus on the cross is a sign to us of God’s great love for us. But it is also an example of the kind of love we need to have for one another. Jesus death on the cross is an example for us to follow. Again it was John who said, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another and the example of that love is Jesus himself. Are we will to sacrifice ourselves completely for the sake of others? Are we willing to love others this much?

Still others see in the cross a picture of God that is so inspiring and compelling that people will come and worship him because we see a God here who is humble and willing to walk in our shoes and even take our place. John says that Jesus will be lifted up so that the entire world will see him and when they see his love and sacrifice, they will turn and worship God. Then others see the death of Jesus as a necessary act if God is going to set up the final victory of life over death. In other word, there can be no resurrection without first a crucifixion, so this death is necessary for the ultimate victory of life.

And then finally there are those who see in the death of Jesus a final reversal of what took place in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden sin and death entered the world through one man, Adam, and now sin and death are being destroyed forever through one man, Jesus. So the work that Jesus finished on the cross was a work of redemption that had been set into motion at the dawn of creation.

What all of these ideas tell us is that there is a lot going on here. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God who redeems us. He is the king who brings the victory of life. Jesus is the great high priest who offers us forgiveness and the teacher who shows us the way. Jesus is the great liberator who sets us free from sin and he is the compassionate friend who is willing to love us and experience the fullness of our lives and even our death. There is so much going on here and yet in one word Jesus says that all this work is finished.

It is finished is really just one word in Aramaic. Finished. Completed. Done. Not as in “I’m done and don’t want to do this anymore” but done as in the work is finally over. The purpose of my suffering and death is completed. I have done what I came to do. So when Jesus utters this final word he is saying that his work is done and we are forgiven. With this word we know that the penalty for our sin has been paid and we have been reconciled to God. With this word we have the assurance of salvation and the knowledge that our relationship with God that sin destroyed has been restored. What is different about this word than all the other ones we hear from the cross is that this word comes with actions. When Jesus speaks here there is evidence given that the work he is talking about is actually finished.

Think back for a moment to the creation story. Every time God spoke, something happened. When God said let there be light - there was light. When God spoke - the worlds were created. When God breathed - life was bron. When Jesus spoke - things happened. When Jesus healed people he often spoke that healing into being. For example when Jesus raised a little girl who had died he said, talitha cum, which means little girl, get up and immediately she got up. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb he called him forth by calling his name. When Jesus said silent - the storms were stilled. When he called forth demons, they came out of people. The word of Jesus had power and authority. When Jesus spoke things happened and that is what we see here. When Jesus says finished, his work was finished and the reason we know this is because at that moment the curtain in the Temple of Jerusalem was torn into two.

This detail of the curtain being torn in half is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke so we know it has some great significance. Let’s look at Mark 15:37-38. There is no way all three gospel writers would have included this detail if it didn’t have some kind of important meaning. To understand what all this means we need to understand the basic layout of the Temple.

When the priests would atone for the sins of the people they would first go into the inner court and make an offering and then once a year the high priest would enter into the holy of Holies where at one point in time the Ark of the Covenant stood. The ark contained the 10 Commandments, a jar of manna and the rod God gave to Moses and Aaron that budded. All these things were reminders that God was not only with his people but that he would protect and provide for them as well. Once a year the high priest would take the blood of a bull and a goat and sprinkle it on the ark to atone for and ask God to forgive the sins of the people.

The curtain that separated the holy of holies was a very thick and sturdy piece of material that was all one piece of cloth. To tear it at all would have been difficult and to tear it from the top to the bottom would have been next to impossible. There was no way someone could get to the top of the curtain at the middle and tear it into two pieces. So when it was torn, the people could only assume that this was the work of God. When the curtain was torn in two, the holy of holies, this place where God dwelled on earth was now open. So the work of Jesus was to open a door and make a way for us to enter into the presence of God. When Jesus says, finished the curtain is torn in two which tells us for sure that Jesus has completed his job – he has opened a door for us to enter into the presence of God.

The curtain being torn in two means that everyone can now enter into a relationship with God. Instead of God’s presence being separated from everyone, it is now open to everyone. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for sin so that no more sacrifice was needed and the door is open for all of us to be able to enter into the presence of God. The work is finished. The door is opened and God leaves the Temple to come and find us and offer us the fullness of life. Will we accept this gift? Will we accept this sacrifice and work of Jesus on the cross?

Next Steps
Final Words from the Cross ~ It is finished.


Each day during this Holy Week take some time to reflect on the work of Jesus we see on the cross.
 Monday: Jesus is the Lamb of God whose death takes away the sin of the world. See John 1:36
 Tuesday: Jesus death on the cross is a reflection of God’s great love for us. See 1 John 4:1-21
 Wednesday: Jesus death sets an example for his disciples to follow. See 1 John 3:11-24
 Thursday: On the cross we see an image of God so inspiring that it draws others to Him. See John 3:13-15, and John12:30-33
 Friday: The death of Jesus is necessary if there is to be a resurrection. Death can only be overcome by someone who has the power to die and then rise again. See 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
 Saturday: The cross is the final reversal of the curse that came in the Garden of Eden. While sin entered through one man, Adam, it is overcome by one man, Jesus. See Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

All this work was authenticated by God tearing the Temple curtain in two. How can you act on the truth of God’s love and forgiveness seen in Jesus? In what ways can you sacrifice, forgive and love others this week? How can you help bring light and freedom into the darkness of our world?

Final Words ~ I Thirst

As we have been listening to these final words of Jesus from the cross, we have been amazed and overwhelmed at the power of what we have heard. For example, the first word of Jesus was a prayer to God not for himself but for us when he prayed, Father, forgive them. The second word was to a sinner condemned to die with Jesus for his crimes and to him he said, today you will be with me in paradise. The third word was to those Jesus loved the most, his mother and the disciple John. In his word to them (behold your mother, behold your son) he created a new family telling them to care for each other as a mother and son. The fourth word we heard last week was the cry of Jesus soul when he felt forsaken and alone and yet because it was a quotation for the psalms we were assured that God had not forsaken him and that God will not forsake us. Today’s we hear perhaps the most human word of Jesus from the cross. It’s a word that reminds us that part of what we see happening on the cross is just a man dying.


This past week, one of our older members passed away. Helen Andrews was 91 when she died on Tuesday. She hadn’t been able to talk and nurses said she hadn’t been able to swallow anything for a few days. When I stepped into the room, Helen’s mouth was open and like so many others I had seen in this stage of life, her lips were dry. When people get to this point, their mouths get so dry and if they can talk what they often ask for is something to drink. If they can’t swallow then we will take swab and just wet their lips and mouth to alleviate the thirst. For Jesus it was just the same. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for hours, he had lost a lot of fluid from blood and sweat so he was most likely dehydrated before they crucified him and after hanging in the sun for hours on the cross during the heat of the day we hear this very human cry for help, I thirst. Literally, Jesus was thirsty and John shares this detail if for no other reason than to remind us that Jesus was fully human.

This was an important point for John because there were many people during John’s life that didn’t think Jesus was fully human. When they heard about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection they couldn’t believe that he was real man, they thought he was just the spirit of God that appeared to them like a man. These people were known as docetists, which comes from the Greek word dokeo which means “to seem” or appear. Some of these people even thought that it was Simon of Cyrene who not only carried the cross for Jesus but die in his place. So as John is sharing his life’s story and the good news of Jesus he hears people saying, well, it wasn’t a man on the cross, it just seemed like a man, it was really just a spirit. When John hears this, you can almost imagine him saying, no. Jesus was real, he was a real man. He was a fully human being who died on the cross, in fact, I even heard him say, I thirst and I saw a sponge filled with wine pressed to his lips – it was real. John makes it clear that Jesus was fully human by sharing with us these very human words and he shows us that on the cross was a very real human being who died like anyone else would, in pain and longing for something to drink. So this word from the cross is a very human word and it reminds us that Jesus was fully human, but this entire scenario also tells us that Jesus was very humble.

To see the real humility of Jesus we need to step back and look at the larger scene of Jesus being offered something to drink when he was crucified. All four of the gospels record that this happened, but each one records it in a slightly different way. Now these differences make sense to me because there was a lot of confusion and noise that day and the people watching this unfold are in such grief and pain that it was difficult to understand all that was going on. Matthew and Mark record the scene in almost identical fashion. Let’s look at Matthew 27:33-35 and Mark 15:22-24. All we are told is that Jesus was offered a wine mixed with either gall or myrrh, which means some kind of spice or drug and that Jesus did not take it.

There are two ideas about what Jesus was offered here. The first is that the Roman soldiers offered Jesus something that would induce vomiting which would have made his crucifixion even more traumatic and painful but it would also have brought death along more quickly. The problem with this idea is that if the Romans really wanted to inflict more pain on Jesus, they would have simply forced him to drink it or poured it into his mouth, but they didn’t.

The second idea, which makes more sense, is that the mixture of wine with either myrrh or gall was a drug that would have eased Jesus pain and slowed his breathing and heart rate. It would have made Jesus more comfortable during his crucifixion and brought death on that much quicker. That Jesus refuses to drink it shows us that Jesus didn’t want to deaden the pain. Jesus didn’t want to take the easy road, he wanted to feel the fullness of what was coming. Instead of being drugged up, Jesus wanted a clear head to feel the pain and experience the loneliness and isolation that was to come. This makes sense when we look at the fullness of Jesus life because Jesus never avoided the pain and suffering that others experienced.

As we look back over the life of Jesus we see that he never took the easy road. While Jesus could have gained wealth and power and glory in this world – he chose to give that up to be obedient to God. Jesus had no place to call home. Jesus had no wealth, no livestock, fields, vineyards, family or anything else that the world considered wealth. He was poor and lived the life of a simple travelling preacher and teacher. While other religious leaders enjoyed the privileges and trappings of status and position, Jesus refused it all. He never took the easy way and he called all those who followed him to also deny themselves the wealth and power of this world. Jesus said that if anyone wanted to follow him they had to deny themselves, and part of that self denial meant not taking the easy road.

Today we are all looking for the easy road in life, that’s why things like the lottery, gambling and sweepstakes are so big right now, and they are the easy road to luxury and comfort. These things are very seductive and lure us all in. On Jan 1 my family and I were watching the Rose Parade on HGTV and heard about their dream home sweepstakes. You could win a dream home, a new car and $50,000 to probably pay for the taxes on this beautiful home in SC. My sister entered me and said that I needed to register twice every day online and that if I won, I owed them the $50k. So for the next 6 weeks I registered twice every day and I have to tell you that I started thinking about how nice it would be to win a vacation home on the coast of South Carolina, and how nice it would be to live in this beautiful home surrounded by all the luxuries of the world. Most of us would love that, most of us want the easy way and the easy road, but that is not the way of Jesus. When Jesus was offered all the wealth and power and comfort and glory of this world – he turned it down and made his home among the poor and outcast.

This is where the way of Jesus is so counter cultural. While the world says, take the road of comfort and ease, Jesus says, deny yourself. When the world says, live for yourself, Jesus says, live and sacrifice for others. A colleague of mine was sharing a few years ago about taking a mission trip with some students. When they arrived at the work site, however, she said the accommodations they were given were terrible. They were dirty and primitive and in her mind unacceptable. As she talked I couldn’t help but think that they were going to serve people who had nothing. They were going to serve people who may have been happy to be able to call their accommodations home and I thought, wait, you were on a mission trip, why not pitch and clean up the place where you were staying instead of finding a better place to stay. The way of Jesus doesn’t look for the easy way out. That’s what we see in the cross. The cross is not the easy way out and even when Jesus was offered something to ease the pain, he says no.

Now Luke’s version gives us a similar kind of message. Look at Luke 23:36-37. The thought here is that the soliders are taunting Jesus by offering him this wine mixture to ease his pain, but then they pull it away and tell Jesus to help himself – save himself. To be clear, from a distance, a branch with a sponge filled with wine being offered to Jesus and then taken away could look like what we read in any of the four gospels and because of the chaos and confusion of the moment people are seeing it in different ways, but even in Luke’s version we see Jesus rejecting the easy way because he could have come off the cross and saved himself. Jesus could have chosen a different path even at this moment, but he didn’t. Jesus chose to experience the fullness of pain and loss just like we do. Jesus chose in this moment to not only be fully human but to be fully humble.

So now let’s go back to John’s account for in it we are given a little more insight into what is going on. John not only wants us to see that Jesus chose to be fully human in this moment, but his attention to detail in the telling of the story tells us something more. Look at how John describes the scene. He is the only gospel writer who tells us that the branch they used to lift the sponge to Jesus mouth was a hyssop branch. Now this in itself would be unusual. A hyssop was a busy kind of shrub which had branches that would have been difficult to attach a sponge to, but because it was this kind of branch tells us something.

If we go back into the Old Testament we find that it was the hyssop branch that the people of Israel used to sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial lambs over the door posts on the night of the Passover. In the last of the plagues God sent on the people of Egypt, God told His people to sprinkle blood over their doors so that when the angel of death moved through the land, it would pass over those homes. The blood was to be applied with a hyssop branch and now it was a hyssop branch being used to lift wine to Jesus mouth. John is helping us connect Jesus with the lamb of God. John wants us to see that it is now the blood of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb that will save us. In fact, John is the only gospel who calls Jesus the Lamb of God. John wants us to see that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb whose blood shed on the cross takes away our sin and gives us life just as the Passover lamb whose blood was sprinkled on the doorposts of the house gave the people of Israel life.

Hyssop was also the branch used in the ceremonial washing of the priests. It was used to purify people so they could enter into the presence of God and so again John wants us to see that it is through the death of Jesus that we are purified and our sins are washed away. What John wants us to see here is what he makes clear to people in his letter to the church. Look at 1 John 1:7b The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.

So the detail of the hyssop is important, it helps us see that what is taking place on the cross is not just the human being Jesus dying, but it is the lamb of God dying to take away the sin of the world. John also makes clear to us that this is all according to God’s plan. Go back and look at John 19:28, it says that all this took place so that the scriptures might be fulfilled. The scripture we believe this refers to is Psalm 69. Look at Psalm 69:21. But it is not just this verse that John wants us to see, he wants us to see the entire psalm.

Look at Psalm 69:19-21. Isn’t this what Jesus has been experiencing? Isn’t this what Jesus is living out at this very moment? And look at Psalm 69:13-18. Isn’t this the prayer of Jesus we heard last week? God don’t turn your face away. But the psalm doesn’t just point to what Jesus is going in this moment, it looks forward to the final outcome, look at Psalm 69:34-36. John wants us to see that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin and purifies us from sin and delivers us from death and brings us into God’s kingdom, God’s land where we live forever.

But there is one last thing we need to take from this final word. When we look at John’s telling of this story we find that there is one major detail missing. John never tells us who offers Jesus the wine. It could be that it was John himself, or it could have been Mary his mother, Mary his aunt or Mary Magdalene who are all at the foot of the cross, or it could have been someone else, we really don’t know, but have you ever asked yourself, would I have been willing to step forward and give Jesus something to drink?

Whoever offered Jesus the wine had to have the courage to help a condemned man in the face of the Roman soldiers. It would have been risky to do this. This person could have been beaten or even crucified along with Jesus, but they were willing to risk it all, to deny themselves to meet Jesus need. Would we have been willing to do that? Since we weren’t there, we can’t answer that question, so let me ask this one, are we willing to offer Jesus a drink today? You see Jesus said that every time we offer water to someone in need we are offering it to Jesus, so are we willing to risk everything in order to offer a drink to those who are crying out today, I thirst.

There are close to a billion people who today need clean water and the gift of water is the gift of life.


I want to invite all of us to give water to Jesus. For the next 2 weeks I want you to think about how much money you spend on things you drink. That would include milk, juice, soda, water, sports drinks, coffee, iced coffee, milkshakes – you name it. Would you be willing to donate the same amount of money you spend on yourself over the next two weeks to help drill a well in a community that needs water? Can we hear those who are crying out, I thirst, and can we deny ourselves and give them something to drink? I want to invite you to do this for just two weeks, from now until Easter and then on Easter Sunday we will have a separate collection that will go to provide life giving water to those in need.

It’s not often that we get to put ourselves into this story of Jesus of Jesus in a positive way. We often read this story and think about how we would have been like Peter and the rest of the disciples who fled when Jesus needed them the most, but today we can be the one follower, the one person who not only stayed but was willing to deny ourselves and reach out to Jesus. Let’s deny ourselves and reach out to Jesus as we hear him say, I thirst.



Next Steps
Final Words from the Cross ~ I Thirst

1. Take time to reflect on Psalm 69. Notice all the ways Jesus lived out this psalm during his crucifixion and claim the future this psalm promises.

2. Identify the “easy roads” you are tempted to take in life. Do these compromise your integrity at work or at home? Do they lead you away from greater trust in Jesus?

3. There is one other time in John’s gospel when Jesus asks for water. Read John 4:1-42. What does it mean that Jesus is the “living water”? How is Jesus living water for you? How can you be living water for someone else?

4. Calculate how much money you spend on drinks over the course of 2 weeks. Include not only water but milk, soda, coffee, tea, iced coffee, juice and sports drinks. What percentage of this would you be willing to donate to those who are thirsty around the world? Consider making this a special gift to Jesus on Easter Sunday.

5. To learn more about providing water to those who are thirsty, check out http://thewaterproject.org/ or http://www.water.cc/.

Final Words ~ My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

While Luke and John each record three unique statements of Jesus from the cross, the gospels of Matthew and Mark record only one. While it’s clear that Jesus said more than one word, Matthew and Mark only pass on this statement and it might be because this word is so moving and so powerful that they felt like it was all that needed to be said. While this word is perhaps the most familiar of the words Jesus spoke, it is also the most disturbing and maybe the most misunderstood. In a moment of deep pain and desperation Jesus cries out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?


What’s clear from this word is that in this moment of pain and anguish Jesus felt abandoned by God. He no longer felt the presence of God that he had experienced his entire life and so in this terrifying moment Jesus felt alone. While there were people around him, even people that he loved and loved him, in this moment of pain and anguish, Jesus felt abandoned by his father. Here’s what makes this scene so powerful, it’s in this moment that Jesus feels exactly what we feel. There are times when we all feel alone. If you haven’t experienced that kind of a moment yet, there will come a time when you will because there are times we all cry out to God asking why he has forsaken us. Where is he in the midst of our pain and suffering?

For most of us there have already been these dark moments. They come when we finally face the reality of our sin and have to confess that everything in life seems beyond our control. It’s in the midst of this dark mess that we wonder where God is. For some this moment comes with the diagnosis of cancer for us or worse yet for a loved one and we feel isolated and alone and wonder where God is. For some the dark valley comes when we see jobs and investments and everything we have worked for disappear and we ask ourselves where God is in the midst of the economic crisis. For some it comes as we battle depression, or come to terms with abuse and bullying and feeling unworthy. For some it comes in the midst of accidents and unexpected tragedies. It is in those moments we all cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

Many people also ask this question when they see the pain and suffering that exists in the world around us. When I was in college I had a professor that I thought was an amazing man. He was on the archeological dig in Ethiopia where they discovered the ancient human bones known as Lucy. These were the oldest bones ever discovered and it had to be a truly remarkable moment. He had travelled all over the world and experienced some of the most amazing things that I could imagine. He would have been like Indiana Jones only without the whip and fedora. He was also a confirmed atheist and he told us this often.

At the end of one of my exams I wrote out a question for him. I asked him how after seeing so many amazing things around the world he could say that there was no God. His answer was one we often hear. He said, Yes, I’ve been all over the world and I’ve seen incredible things. I’ve seen poverty, starvation, violence and man’s inhumane treatment of other men. Tell me how there can be a god. In other words, in the face of all the pain, chaos and injustice he saw and experience around him he was crying out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken us? Where are you? For him, and for many, it was easier to believe there was no God than to believe in a God who would turn his back on such injustice.

In our own way, we wrestle with this same feeling. We ask ourselves where God is when we experience tremendous pain and loss. Where is God when we hurt so much and think that nothing will ever take the pain away? Where is God when we feel like all is lost? These are very normal questions, very human ones, and they are the same questions that Jesus asked because he felt the same way we do. Where was God in the midst of his pain? Jesus was feeling so alone, so abandoned, so afraid and in so much pain and he cries out, “God, where are you? “

Before we answer that question, I want us to step back and moment and remember that while we often find ourselves in this situation, it is usually due to circumstances beyond our control. We often feel alone and let down by God because of things that happen to us.

We don’t choose to get sick, we don’t choose to have relationships fall apart, and we don’t choose to battle depression, addictions or go through an economic crisis and failure. We don’t choose those things – they happened to us and at those times we wonder where God is. But with Jesus it’s different. Jesus chose a road in life that he knew would lead him to this place of feeling abandoned. Jesus chose to carry a cross and come to a place where he knew he would experience the pain of isolation and feeling alone.

If we go back and look at the events that led up to the crucifixion, we see any number of moments when Jesus could have gone in a different direction and saved his own life. Jesus could have left Jerusalem at the Passover when tensions were running high, but he chose to stay. Jesus could have kept Judas from betraying him, but he let him go. Jesus could have fled the Garden of Gethsemane during the dark of night before the soldiers came to arrest him, but he remained with his friends. Jesus could have spoken up at his trial before the religious leaders and he could have defended himself against Pilate and Herod – but he chose to fulfill God’s word and stand there silent. Jesus chose the road that led him to the cross. He knew the decisions he was making would bring him to this moment of feeling forsaken. Why did he do it? Why did Jesus choose this road? The answer is because he loves us and he knew this was going to be the way of salvation for us.

There is an old hymn which talks about this love of Jesus. It goes, What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul
What wondrous love is this, O my soul
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul

I’m not sure the dreadful curse for Jesus was death as much as it was this moment of feeling abandoned by God. How painful it must have been for Jesus to feel so alone and forsaken by his father. Jesus had felt a special closeness to God his entire life and yet he chose to let that go, he chose to walk this road so that he would know exactly how we feel and so he could deliver us from sin and death.

Jesus not only loves us this much but he calls us to love others this much. As followers of Jesus, our love for others should be willing to set aside what we want and what is good for us so that we can do what is good for others. That is what it means for us to carry a cross. I’ve been asking myself this week what this kind of love looks like. What does this wondrous love look like in our own lives? At first I thought this kind of love was rare and extraordinary, but then I realized, maybe it isn’t. Maybe this kind of sacrificial love is all around us and maybe we are able to live it out in our own lives.

You see, what this love looks like is people choosing to rush home from work so they can get to a church that reaches out to children who have no place to go. They sacrifice their time and energy to be treated poorly, to be called every name in the book and to even be threatened by children in 2nd and 3rd grade. This takes place every Wednesday at the ROCK at Second Ave. in Altoona as part of their afterschool program. When I was there, we would often gather at the end of the night and ask ourselves the same question Jesus did, “God, why have you forsaken us. Where are you in this? Where are you in the pain and suffering of these children’s lives and where are you as we try to help them? We feel so helpless and alone.” But the next week we would all choose to be right there again because God’s wondrous love seen on the cross moved us to love others.

This kind of love looks like people giving up their vacations and paying hundreds of dollars to travel for 2 days to go to hot and dry South Dakota to help those who live in one of the poorest counties in our nation. We built houses, we painted homes, we worked to help people every way we could and there were times we asked ourselves if we were really doing any good. Where we making any difference? Where was God in all of their pain and suffering and where was God in our desire to help transform their lives?

This kind of love looks like people from here at Faith Church who are currently serving in Alabama after the tornados from last year destroyed so many homes and lives. It looks like high school students giving up some of their summer vacation to serve people less fortunate and in need. It also looks like a church congregation giving up a Saturday to serve the needs of seniors in our community or families choosing to celebrate Christmas by reaching out to help feed those who are hungry and make a difference in our community.

The wondrous love of Jesus that chose to reach out to others even though he knew it would lead to heartache and pain is a love that is seen all around us as people choose to live for others and not for themselves. This love is possible for us to make part of our lives. The love of Jesus is possible for us to live out in our lives if we are willing to do the same thing. When we love others in ways that calls us to give ourselves to others, then we are both experiencing and sharing this wondrous love of Jesus. When we hear this word of Jesus from the cross we need to remember that he made a choice to be there, he made a choice to love others – and we need to make the same choice.

So now let’s go back and answer the question that this word from the cross raises. Where was God when Jesus felt abandoned and alone? Where was God when Jesus hung and died on the cross? Some believe that when Jesus was on the cross, God turned his face away. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says “for our sake God made Jesus, who had no sin, to be sin so that through him we might become the righteousness of God.” So when Jesus was on the cross, our sin was placed upon him and in that moment some believe that God, who is pure and holy and righteous, turned his face away.

In his classic book Basic Christianity, theologian John Stott writes, “Our sins came between the Father and the Son. The Lord Jesus Christ who was eternally with the Father, who enjoyed unbroken communion with him throughout his life on earth, was thus momentarily abandoned. He tasted the torment of a soul estranged from God. Bearing our sins, he died our death. He endured instead of us the penalty of separation from God which our sins deserved.”

So some believe that in this moment Jesus not only felt abandoned by his father in heaven, but because of our sin, he actually was forsaken by God, even if it was only for a moment. There are others, however, who interpret this word of Jesus a little differently and here’s why. Does God ever really abandon or forsake anyone? Even when we willfully turn away from God and walk in sin – does God forsake us and turn away from us? The Bible is pretty clear that God doesn’t do this. Look at Psalm 139:1-12.

God is always with us and when it says that even the darkness is not dark to God it tells me that even the darkness of sin doesn’t keep God away. So did the darkness of our sin placed on Jesus really force God away, or did it just feel like it. The truth is that whenever we walk through dark and difficult places and whenever we willfully turn to sin, it feels like God has left us, but just because that is how we feel doesn’t mean those feelings are real. After all, Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So if God doesn’t ever abandon us, then what do we make of this word from the cross.

I think it is important for us to understand that these were very honest words from Jesus, he was feeling alone - like we all do at times, but these words were also a prayer for Jesus. This word from the cross is actually a quotation from Psalm 22, a psalm that would have been very well known by all the Jewish people who heard Jesus that day. In fact, when Jesus said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, the people would have immediately thought to themselves, why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning. They would have been able to not only recite the next line but they would have been able to finish the psalm.

It would be like this. If I said, Amazing grace how sweet the sound, you all immediately think to yourselves… (that saved a wretch like me.) And you could probably sing the rest of the song as well.

Or if I say, the Lord is my shepherd you would think… (I shall not want) and many of you would be able to finish Psalm 23.

Or if I said, Our Father, who art in heaven, you would think… (hallowed be thy name.) and again, you could finish the prayer.

It was the same for the people who heard Jesus that day. When they heard this cry of Jesus, they weren’t just hearing how Jesus felt forsaken in this moment, they were hearing the entire psalm, so we need to look at the entire psalm to see what else Jesus was thinking and praying and feeling in this moment. As part of our next steps this week we encourage you to take some time to read through the Psalm 22 and reflect on all that was on Jesus’ mind and heart in this moment, but for now, let’s look at just a few verses.


First look at Psalm 22:6-8 and now 22:12-18. All of this was what was happening to Jesus. All these things were taking place as Jesus hung on the cross so Jesus was actually living out this psalm; it was being fulfilled in his dying. Now if this was all there was to the psalm, things would be pretty bleak and hopeless, but this is not all there is. Look at Psalm 22:3-5. Jesus may be crying out to God asking where he is, but he knows that God is the one who is there to save him. And then look at 22: 24. This may be the most important word in the entire psalm. God heard Jesus when he cried out to him. God was there when Jesus felt alone and forsaken. God heard him when he cried for help and God was there to save him, that’s also what it says at the very end of the psalm, look at Psalm 22: 30-31. There’s the word we are looking for, deliverance. God hears Jesus when he cries out and God is there to save him.

Maybe that is why both Matthew and Mark only record this one word from the cross, because this one word not only shows us the humanity of Jesus and how he felt alone and afraid just like we all do at times, but it also shows us that Jesus never gave up hope or faith because he knew God was with him and that deliverance was coming. When we feel abandoned and think that everything is going against us and God has let us down, we need to remember that first of all – Jesus understands that feeling. He gets it, but he doesn’t let it get him. His cry from Psalm 22 reminds us that not only does God hear us when we cry out in despair, but God comes to save us. No matter what the darkness or despair is that we face in life, no matter what the darkness and despair is that we face today, God is here and God is here to save.


Next Steps
Final Words from the Cross ~  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

1. Read Psalm 22. Notice all the different ways this psalm reflects what Jesus experienced on the cross. Jesus is not just reciting scripture here, he is praying. Use Psalm 22 as a prayer to God. Share with God honest feelings of despair and disappointment and ask God for strength and salvation.

2. If you are feeling abandoned and forgotten by God today, remember Jesus felt the same way. Jesus used scripture to remind himself that God was with him. Read Psalm 18 and Psalm 139 and claim the promise that God is with us always.

3. Because he loves us, Jesus made the choice to deny himself and die on the cross, pray for those who this week are denying themselves to serve others.
• Pray for those on the mission team in Alabama.
• Pray for students who choose to serve over spring break.
• Pray for our missionaries around the world:
          The Abbotts in Spain
          The Wilcox in Alaska
          The Enrights in Zambia
          The Smallwoods in Kentucky (Red Bird Mission)
          The Heffners in New Mexico

4. Jesus said those who want to follow him must deny themselves and take up a cross. How can we show this kind of wondrous (sacrificial) love to others?
• Sign up to help with “Serving our Seniors”.
• Volunteer time to minister to children or youth.
• Volunteer time at a local outreach agency.

Final Words ~ Behold your mother... Behold your son...

The first word of Jesus from the cross was a prayer to God, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” The second word was an offer of forgiveness to a sinner, one of the criminals who was condemned to die with Jesus. To him he said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The third word is now directed toward Jesus family and friends. As Jesus looks down from the cross he sees some of the people he loves the most and some of the people he knows love him the most. There is his mother Mary, her sister or more likely her sister in law, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ disciple John.


As we look at this little group it is confusing to understand who they all are because besides John there are three women all named Mary. The first Mary mentioned is Jesus’ mother and it’s obvious that she loves her son and as any mother would be, she is heart broken and devastated by watching him be crucified. The third Mary mentioned is also someone we hear about in the gospels and that is Mary Magdalene. She was a woman who was healed by Jesus when he drove out of her seven demons. Mary Magdalene showed her love and devotion to Jesus in many ways and there are many who think of this Mary as more of a disciple of Jesus than just a friend. The third Mary is not someone we know very much about. She is described as Mary, the wife of Clopas who is also the sister of Mary. I have to be honest and say that I have never really thought about this woman and why she is there, but as we begin to understand her story we begin understand more of what Jesus is saying in this word from the cross.

John 19:25b says that this Mary was the wife of Clopas and the sister of Mary. It would probably be more accurate to say she was Mary’s sister in law because early church tradition tells us that Clopas was Joseph’s brother. We actually know very little about what happened to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. He was obviously there when Jesus was born and he was there when they returned from Egypt and settled in Nazareth and there is also a story of Mary and Joseph still together when Jesus is a young boy, but there is no mention of Joseph at all once Jesus enters into ministry as an adult. What most people believe is that Joseph died at some point when Jesus was young and if that was the case then it would have been the responsibility of Joseph’s brothers to help care for Mary and her children.

If Clopas was Joseph’s brother, then he and his wife Mary would have taken Mary and her children under their care and helped provide for them after Joseph died. So it makes sense that during this time of pain and sorrow for both Mary and Jesus that she would be present with them. She would not only have been Jesus’ aunt, but also a second mother, a woman who loved Jesus and helped raise him. So when Jesus looks down from the cross what he sees is his family, but he doesn’t just see his biological family he sees his spiritual family as well because standing with Mary and Mary is Jesus’ disciple John and Mary Magdalene. Jesus loved these two people deeply, maybe more than any other, and he is concerned about them in this moment as well. When Jesus sees his closest friends and family in so much pain, and remember Jesus can see their pain because he is close enough to look deep into their eyes, he has compassion on them and he does all he can in this moment to help them by calling them to love and care for one another.

That’s what these words of Jesus really mean. When Jesus looks at his mother and says about John, “behold your son,” she wants Mary to accept the help and support John might give her. Jesus wants his mother to know that he is not going to abandon her but that through John he will continue to provide for her in the years to come. I think he also wants Mary to see John as her own son and reach out to love and support him because what he is going through right now is also painful. And when he looks at John and says about his mother Mary, “behold your mother” Jesus is saying to John that Mary is now going to be his responsibility. Jesus wants John to care for Mary as if she was his own mother and help her in very real and practical ways. Jesus knows that what these people are about to face is going to be difficult and so he wants them to be there for one another, not just in thought or word, but in action.

Now the level of love and commitment that Jesus calls them to have for one another is the deepest there can be because he calls them to actually care for each other as a mother and son, or a parent and child. To understand just how serious a commitment this is, we need to think back to the 10 Commandments. There is only one commandments that comes with a blessing and that is - Honor your father & mother. Look at Deuteronomy 5:16. That it is set apart as the only commandment that comes with a blessing tells us that it is important.

What is important to know that this commandment is that it was not given to young children in order to get them to obey their parents, this commandment was given to adult children who were being called to honor or actually physically care for their parents in their old age. Children were to physically, emotionally and financially support and provide for their parents as they got older. They were to work to make sure their parents had food and shelter and clothing and that they were protected under the law. So when Jesus looks down from the cross, this word creates a new family. Jesus is not calling them into some kind of superficial relationship of being nice to one another. It’s not about offering words of support, it’s not about sending cards on mother’s day or birthdays, this was to be a relationship of mutual responsibility and care. They were to be there for each other and take care of each other for the rest of their lives. There is a tradition tells us that this is exactly what happened and that John built Mary a home in Ephesus and that she lived out the rest of her life there.

What I think is so powerful about this word is that Jesus isn’t just concerned about his mother – it’s not just making sure she is cared for, which was his responsibility under the law, he is also concerned about his friend John. Jesus can look into John’s eyes and see his fear and grief and pain and he wants to do something to help take of him. So in compassion and love for John Jesus says to his mother Mary, “behold your son”. Jesus wants Mary to take her love and share it with John who will need of some love and support in the days to come.

Jesus wants these two people to take care of each other as if they are a real family and I think that is still God’s word for all of us today.

During his entire life, Jesus worked to establish and strengthen relationships. Think about his birth, when Jesus was born he brought people together. Shepherds came to Bethlehem and they encouraged Mary and Joseph who were wondering if God’s word to them about this baby being the son of God was true. When those shepherds showed up and told Mary and Joseph that a host of angels told them that their baby was the Messiah – it had to encourage them. That little group gathered by the manger found support in their very brief but powerful relationship with one another.

When Jesus healed lepers he didn’t just cleanse them physically, he restored their relationships. Once these people were clean they were able to return to their families and communities. Jesus healed children and gave them back to their parents. He forgave sinners and restored them to their family and friends. He invited people to follow him and created a new community of love, trust and commitment – a spiritual family. Jesus’ entire life was spent building and strengthening relationships and calling people into a spiritual family, relationships of love and commitment and support and once again we see that Jesus is dying the way he lived. What was important to him his entire life is now one of his last acts, one of his final words from the cross. Behold your son and behold your mother are words that helped strengthen relationships and deepen love and commitment.

New relationships of love and commitment have always been part of the mission of the church. In the book of Acts we get a picture of what this looks like. Look at Acts 2:43-47. What we see here are people committed to caring for one another no matter what is going on. When anyone had a need, the church was there to help. When someone struggled, others were there to provide comfort and strength. What we see is a real family where people were willing to truly love one another where love is defined as a sacrificial action and not just a sentimental emotion.

I have to be honest and say that the kind of family dynamics that Jesus created from the cross is rare. People taking other’s into their homes and lives isn’t the norm for us, but I have seen some examples of it that have been a blessing and inspiration to me. In Altoona there were two families that were willing to reach out and take into their homes young teenagers who were basically homeless. These weren’t long term situations, but they gave us all a glimpse of what kind of relationships Jesus calls us to develop. In Lewisburg there was a couple who cared for two elderly women who didn’t have much family and they took care of them as if they were their own mothers. They physically, financially, and spiritually cared for these women until they died and they asked for nothing in return. Again, they provided all of us in the church a glimpse of what it means to be the family of God. And here at Faith Church I see people reaching out to care for one another in very real ways. There are some here who have gone the extra mile and sacrificed their time and energy to care for people they have grown to love and these relationships, these spiritual families, reveal to us a glimpse of what the true family of God looks like. It’s was what Jesus was seeking to creating in one of his final words from the cross.

I wish we would see more of this in the life of the church, but honestly, I think we are afraid to do it. We are afraid of getting hurt. We are afraid of being taken advantage of, and sometimes we are afraid of asking for the help we know we need. I wonder what kind of fear Mary and John must have experienced when they looked at each other after Jesus said this word. How well do the even know each other? Did they trust each other? Did they have any real connection with each other at this point in time? There is nothing in the Bible that tells us that they did – what united them was their love for Jesus and his love for them.

What Mary and John teach us is that we can’t be afraid to reach out and work to build healthy and supportive relationships with those around us. Whether they are younger people who might need guidance, love and encouragement or older people who need physical care, comfort and support – we need to ask God to show us the family we need to develop. Who is here today that we might need to reach out and love? What families do we know in our neighborhoods that need some extra support? What needs in the schools or the nursing homes need our special attention and support? What students need a mentor, what college students need a host family or pen pal, what shut-in needs an adopted child or grandchild to spend time with them? There are people all around us in need of love and support and if we will open our ears and hearts to Jesus – he may share a word with us that will help us see them.

So this is not just a compassionate word that Jesus has for Mary and John from the cross; this is a word of direction for the church. We are to become a family in very real and practical ways. We are to care for one another the way we would care for our children or our parents. We need to seek ways to deepen and develop relationships with those around us who might need a little extra love and attention. We need to be willing to sacrifice what we have for the real needs of others. In a final word from the cross Jesus created a family and his word for us today is still to be that family – his family.


Next Steps
Final Words from the Cross ~ Behold your mother. Behold your son.

At the foot of the cross Jesus honors his mother and creates a new family.

1. How might God be calling you to honor your father and mother? How do your parents need your physical, financial, spiritual or emotional support? What can you do this week to help them?

2. What older adults might need your loving support? With families scattered around the nation and world, what older adults in the church or community could use your physical, emotional or spiritual help? What practical ways can you help them this week?

3. What children or youth might need your loving support? The responsibility of caring for children and youth belongs to all of us in the church, so what ways can you help children, youth and their families? Can you build a relationship with a family whose extended family lives far away?

4. How can you help lead the church in ministries that help meet the needs of seniors or children in our community? What relationships can you help establish and nurture with daycares, schools and nursing homes?

5. Take some time to reflect on the picture of the early church found in Acts 2: 3-47. How did the people care for one another like a family? How can Faith Church begin to do these things today?