Good morning. Today we are going to continue to look at what Jesus had to say in His final words as He was hanging on the cross. We have already taken a look at all of them in an introductory way, and then last week we look at the statement, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” And we discussed how that verse was talking about forgiveness. This week, we are moving on and taking a look at 2 different sayings that Jesus uttered to people from the cross.
Before we do that though, let’s begin our time with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
Now, just like I said last week, each week I want to share with you each of these statements and the themes on Jesus’ heat for those 6 hours that Friday as He was on the cross. This works as a reminder of what Jesus had to say that day. Here is what Jesus had to say on the cross in His final words:
In Luke 23:34 we see forgiveness as Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
In John 19:26-27 we see the importance of family as Jesus says, ““Dear woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.””
In John 19:28 we see the fragileness of life when Jesus says, “I am thirsty.”
In Matthew 27:46 we see forsakenness and unjust suffering as Jesus asks, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?”
In Luke 23:43 we see the future hope of Heaven when Jesus says “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
In John 19:30 we see a finality and the significance of the cross when Jesus says, “It is finished.”
And in Luke 23:46 we see the faith that Jesus displays as He says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Okay, for this week we are going to look at the statements: “Woman here is your son.” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And “I am thirsty.” To do so, please turn with me to John 19:25-29. Here in this passage, not only do we see these 2 statements, but we also read about the beginning of the crucifixion of Jesus. Let’s take a look at that. John 19:25-29 says, “1”
Now, the first statement that we focus on this morning is a word concerning responsibility and family. Then we will move on and take a look at a word displaying Christ’s humanity.
“…here is your son… here is your mother.” This statement shows us the responsibility of family. It was the oldest Jewish son’s responsibility to take care of the parent’s needs. It is through this statement that Jesus passes that duty on to John. Now the question is, why pass this job to John, and not one of His half-brothers? Well, the answer to that question can be found in the fact that at that time, they were non-believers. So Jesus was passing this responsibility on to one of His “spiritual brothers.”
So, in this statement, I think that we can see 2 key principles regarding family. First, The Comments Of Jesus To Mary From The Cross Demonstrate How Important Respect And Responsibility For Our Physical Families Must Be.
Listen to what it says in I Timothy 5:8. In the verses that surround this verse it is giving advice concerning widows, elders, and slaves. Here is what it has to say. I Timothy 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Here in this statement, and with the support of that I Timothy passage, I believe that Jesus is trying to point us to the importance of taking care of our physical family. When a family member is unable to take care of themselves, it is important for the rest of the family to take care of them. In the Old Testament times, this was vitally important, because women and elderly were unable to survive on their own.
So Jesus stresses the importance to take care of our physical families. Now I am not saying that when a parent gets old, that you have to move them into your home, give up your career and take care of them. All I am saying is that when that time does come, you have to make the arrangements to take care of them in the ways that they need it.
I think that another thing that is interesting here is that these people were about to suffer a great loss of a loved one. And it is here that Jesus reminds us of family. So I think that when we are facing hard times; the loss of a loved one, problems in our family life, financial troubles, and whatever else we face, that we need to go to family for support and encouragement.
But, I don’t think that in this statement Jesus is simply talking about the physical family alone. I think He is speaking a little deeper as well. Second, The Words Of Jesus To Mary Show Us The Importance Of Our Spiritual Families As Well.
John was part of the spiritual family of believers. Today, we call that the church, which is the family of God. I believe that Jesus was trying to tell us all that the church family is second to our real family in responsibility for one another. When you come to church week after week, do you consider the people you fellowship with as family? Do you look at them in the same way that you do other loved ones? Jesus established the church to function in the same way as a real family.
When we become Christians, we enter into the family of God. And this family that we are a part of is not just the people that we see here in this one building week after week. Rather, the family of God extends to all of God’s children. Everyone that is a Christian all around the world are part of one big family. And I believe that Jesus is tell here that the family of God is just as important as the physical family.
If you think about this for a moment, our church family meets our needs in just the same way that our physical families do. Or at leas they are supposed to! When you come here or you meet with another group of fellow believers, you should be able to find support, encouragement, and whatever else you need.
When you face a tough issue in your life, you should be able to go to a fellow Christian and share with them and receive from them in just the same way that you should be able to go to a physical family member. In fact, we should be able to go to our Christian brothers and sisters more than we do. Because it is from these family members that we can gain good Godly advice, encouragement, and support.
How often do you find yourself going to a Christian brother or sister for the needs that you have? Hopefully, as we look a the importance of taking care of one another today, we will be more comfortable and more consistent in going to these people for help as well as to our physical family members.
So, in this first statement, I think that Jesus is pointing out the importance and the responsibility that we all have to both our physical and spiritual families. And I think that a key to that, and it could be a challenge for us as well is to, “keep an open heart and an open home.” We need to be able to practice hospitality. In Romans 12:13 it says, “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Now I think that when we read a verse like this and think to the statement that Jesus shared with us about family, we need to realize that we need to share with our physical family and with our spiritual family in whatever way we can. Care for them by sharing you time, your talents, your resources, whatever you can do, do it to help take care of them.
So, that is a look at Jesus’ statement “…here is your son…here is your mother.” At this time, let’s make a transition and take a deeper look into Jesus’ statement “I am thirsty.”
If you were here a few weeks ago on Sunday evening, hopefully you remember going over the temptation of Jesus. In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry He fated and then went out to the desert. While He was there, the devil came and tempted Him. His first attempt was to have Jesus turn the stones into bread to be able to feed Himself. Satan first attacked Jesus with hunger.
As we look at this statement, it is sort of ironic what Jesus has to say. Jesus began His ministry hungry and ended it thirsty. And I think that it was just to be able to show us that He was indeed human, and that He faced the same kink of things that we do. But I also believe that this passage let’s is know that Jesus was human, as well as divine. Look again at verse 28, it says, “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.””
As we look at this passage, we find that Jesus was defiantly divine, of God. Jesus knew, He was all knowing and had a knowledge that no one else could obtain. As you examine the rest of the Gospels it is evident of the power that He possessed. So He truly was divine.
However, He was also human. In the desert, He was hungry, and now, hanging on the cross, He is thirsty. Throughout the Gospels He ate, He drank, He wept, He bled, He slept, and He did many other things that point to His humanity.
Now if you remember, Jesus was offered something to drink earlier in the crucifixion process. So why didn’t He drink then. Turn with me to Matthew 27:33-34, and take look at this offer. It says in Matthew 27:33-34 that, “They came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place Of The Skull. There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.”
Why would Jesus refuse to drink this, yet when He says He is thirsty, they give Him and He drinks wine vinegar? The answer lies in the gall. Gall would deaden the pain and numb the senses of a person. So Jesus refused the first offer because He needed to be aware of what was gong on, and it was to show that He did suffer pain for our sins.
So now we ask the question, why does Jesus drink this time? Turn with me to Hebrews 4:15. Here in this passage it is talking about Jesus, listen to what it says.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.”
So, why does Jesus drink now? First, Jesus was God, so He knew our needs. This was His way of showing us that He knows what we need in order to survive. Secondly, Jesus was man, so He understood our needs. Not only does He know what we need, but He understands those needs as well. By taking this drink, He shows us that He was right there with us, and that He was facing the same kinds of things that we would face. So He drinks to show us that He cares.
Now, the challenge of this saying is, if you were at Calvary, would you have quenched Jesus’ thirst? Well here is a test for you. If you want to know if you would have quenched Jesus’ thirst or not, turn with me to Matthew 25:34-40. Here in this passage, we learn if we would have helped Jesus or not. Listen to this, Matthew 25:34-40 says, “2”
Meet a need of someone, and you have met a need of God. As we leave this building today, it is my prayer that you will take that message with you. And finally this morning, the humanity of Jesus reminds us that life is fragile. Turn to James 4:14 with me. Here in this passage it is talking about our lives. James 4:14 says, “…you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
As you look at everything around you, there are only 2 things from this life that will survive forever: the word of God and people. The word of God will stand forever and ever, and even though people will die, their spirits will live on for eternity. To make our lives eternally valuable, we must invest them in these two priorities: the word of God, and people. Not our careers, our homes, our wealth, or anything that will fade away. But in the 2 things that matter most: God’s word and people.
Now, as we begin to wrap things up this morning, that last verse we looked at talked about our lives and how we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Let me wrap things up today with a video clip that I received in an email.
(DO THE TRAIN VIDEO CLIP)
Now, because we don’t know what this train ride of life holds for us, it is important that we focus on 2 things. First we need to focus on God, and realize that He was fully God, and fully human. And secondly, we need to focus on the importance and our responsibility to our physical families as well as our spiritual families.
Let’s Pray |
