THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS FROM THE CROSS

Part 1

Luke 23:33-34

Morning Meditation 8/14/17

"And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

I have not typed in all the verses that have these seven last words. But I will give them as we go. It is good for the Lord’s people to meditate on the last words of Jesus in His dying moments from the cross.

Robert Lee said, “The seven words from the Cross fall into two clear sections—the first three for others; the following four concerning Himself.”

As Jesus died His first concern was for others. The first word was for,

FORGIVENESS

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

Jesus recognized their blindness. This corresponds to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Satan has blinding power and he was much in charge of the crucifixion. He is not seen but His presence is clearly manifested. So Jesus prayed for their forgiveness in spite of their guilt.

1. This does not mean that they were not responsible for the sin against God or His Son in the crucifixion. They were absolutely responsible and accountable of the death of Jesus. Acts 3:14-15 Peter told the Jews, "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses."

2. Peter leveled the charge directly at the Jews when He said, “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life. . .”

3. Peter not only made an undeniable charge, He used as a proof text the words by saying, “whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses."

4. Peter also wrote of Satan’s power to blind even saved people in 2 Peter 1:9, “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” Peter himself had been blinded many times by Satan. And the Lord, even though Peter was saved at the time, did not suggest that Peter was not responsible for his blindness. (For this see Matt. 16:21-28). Peter was a great man, but great men, men who would give their lives for Christ, could be blinded by Satan. It was a lesson that one needs to learn. There are times when you argue over a point of doctrine and you are as wrong as wrong can be but you are a WRONG CHILD OF GOD. God in His love for us is willing to forgive us and restore us to fellowship just as He did Peter. Remember, Peter preached the Pentecostal message that brought 3,000 to Christ and. The Lord saves us in spite of our sins. This is what grace is. It is God’s willingness to forgive us because of the Love of Christ dying on the cross to save us from bold presumptuous sins and sins of ignorance.

Then the next word spoken from the cross that I will mention,

CONCERNS THE FUTURE LIFE

This word concerns the dying thief. Luke 23:39-43, "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

It is clear at the beginning of the crucifixion both thieves railed on Jesus. Matthew 27:44, "The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth." We are not told what changed this thief’s mind. But it is clear that he had changed his mind about Jesus. That’s what repentance is. It is a change of mind that brings about a manifest change of attitude expressed in words and actions. Of course this thief could not change his actions because he was nailed to the cross. But he could express a changed mind by what he said to the other thief. His confession involved three things:

1. His honest confession. The first step in conversion is usually the sinner taking his proper place as a sinner before God. Luke 23:39-41, "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss."

2. His declaration of the Lord’s divinity and future kingdom. Luke 23:42 says, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."

3. His conviction that the soul after death still exists. Luke 23:42-43, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

The Lord’s quick reply overthrows the false teaching of purgatory. Jesus said, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Paradise is where the Lord is. Jesus said, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” To be with Jesus alone is heaven not counting the many other things that go with it.

This also overthrows the soul-sleep heresy. These words do not mean, “Today we will sleep together in paradise.” It means we are going to be in the same place called paradise, we will talk, we will be free from this awful suffering.” Jesus said, “Today thou shalt be with ME in paradise.”

4. Some things we can learn from the salvation of the dying thief:

First, we learn the extent of God’s grace.. Jesus was willing to save a man in his dying hour when the man had committed a capital crime. Jesus didn’t even discuss that with him.

Second, we learn that faith alone saves. This man could not do any good works including baptism but the Lord saved him on the spot.

Third, we learn that repentance is a change of mind. This is what the word literally means. It is a change of mind that results in a change of action. This thief argued his case with the other unrepentant thief and said enough to let us know that he had completely changed his mind about who Jesus is.

Fourth, we learn that he believed in the resurrection and that Jesus would be raised and would be a King over a Kingdom. “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Fifth, we learn that a man can be saved without praying the sinners prayer, i.e., “God be merciful to me a sinner.” I teach people to pray the sinners prayer. The only reason I am saying this is to inform unreasonable people who believe that everything has to be just like they interpret it or a person can’t be saved. Well, the thief on the cross believed in Jesus, that He was going to be raised from the dead, that He was going to reign as King in a kingdom and his prayer that saved him was, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” That was enough then and it is enough now.

I will close for this time. This is one of a three part series on the last Words of Jesus. May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White