Seven Words From The Cross

Q: What does the Bible say about the purpose of Scripture?

The Bible's purpose is to teach us about God, our sin, and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, providing us with learning, comfort, patience, and hope. According to Romans 15:4, the Scriptures were written primarily for our learning, comfort, patience, and hope. They teach us the character of God, revealing His holiness, justice, and sovereignty. The Word of God not only informs us about our sinful nature and our need for a Savior but also details the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. It is vital for our faith journey, guiding us to a deeper understanding of salvation through Christ.

Q: Why is gospel preaching essential for salvation?

Gospel preaching is essential because faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and one cannot believe in Christ without first hearing the gospel. Romans 10 emphasizes the necessity of preaching the gospel for salvation. It states that 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' Without the proclaiming of the gospel, individuals cannot call upon Christ, as they must first believe in Him and hear about His work. The preaching of the gospel is God's ordained means for imparting faith to sinners, making it foundational for anyone's salvation experience.

Q: What does the Bible say about hope for believers?

The hope for believers is a confident expectation based on God's promises, particularly found in Christ and His redemptive work. Hope in the Bible is not a mere wish but a confident expectation rooted in God's promises. As believers, our hope looks to the future, believing that God will fulfill what He has promised us through Jesus Christ. This hope involves faith in what God has done in the past and assurance of what He will do in the future, such as eternal life and resurrection. Our hope is centered in Christ—His righteousness and grace—making it firm and unshakeable.

Q: How do we know Christ's redemptive work is finished?

Christ declared His work finished from the cross, indicating that He accomplished all necessary for the salvation of His people. In John 19:30, when Jesus proclaimed 'It is finished,' He affirmed that He had completed the work of redemption. This includes fulfilling the law, bearing our sins, and satisfying God's justice. His declaration signifies that the requirements for atonement were met once for all, ensuring that His sacrifice grants eternal redemption. By trusting in Christ’s finished work, believers can rest assured that their salvation is secure.

Q: Why is patience emphasized in the Christian life?

Patience is essential for Christians as it reflects trust in God's timing and His sovereign orchestration of events in their lives. The Scriptures, such as Psalm 27:14, teach the importance of waiting on the Lord. Patience reflects our trust in God’s sovereignty and timing. In our instant-gratification culture, waiting can be challenging, but it is necessary for spiritual growth. By learning to wait patiently, we align our will with God's, acknowledging that He will fulfill His purposes in our lives. Patience guides us in trusting God's plan, enabling us to endure trials while anticipating His faithful provision.

I recall the first time I went to preach for our friends up in Dingus, West Virginia, Brother Sammy Vance, Brother Gary Vance, rather, who is now the pastor there, was called on to pray, and he prayed like this. He said, Lord, we ask that as Brother Don attempts to preach, that you preach him. And that struck me as being most profound and most understanding of what's necessary.

Unless God is pleased to speak by my lips, whatever I say will be of no value to your soul. So I pray that God will preach me, that he will speak through me by his word to your hearts.

I want us to turn to Romans chapter 15. We'll begin here in verse 4. Romans 15 and verse 4. Here the Apostle Paul reveals to us the fourth-fold purpose of Holy Scripture. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now this is what he says, the word of God was written for these four purposes specifically. Everything contained in the scriptures, from Genesis through Revelation, was written in order that you and I, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, might have a learning, that we might have comfort, that we might have patience, and that we might have hope.

First, the scriptures were written for our learning, that we might learn from those things written in this book, those things that are absolutely necessary for all saving knowledge, that we might learn from this book the character of God Almighty, that He is holy, just, and true, that He is sovereign Lord over all things, King of the universe. These things are written in the scriptures to teach us something of the condition of man by nature, to teach us our sin, to show us the corruption, the depravity, and the inability of our hearts. The scriptures are written to teach us of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the glory and grace of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ in the gospel.

Now, I recognize I recognize that a person is not saved by mere knowledge. You may become a proficient theologian, you may become a scholar of Bible languages, you may be a respected teacher or preacher of the gospel, and yet know nothing of the living God. Knowledge is not in itself salvation, but no one, now listen to me, no one will ever be saved apart from revealed knowledge. That's absolutely necessary. I hear folks talk about being saved and not knowing anything about the gospel. I hear folks talk about being saved and knowing nothing about the person and work of Christ. That is utter nonsense. You cannot trust an unknown, unrevealed Savior, anyone you can come back to somewhere you haven't been. You've got to know Christ in order to trust him. You've got to have him revealed to you, made known to you, in order to believe on him.

Turn with me to Romans 10. Just hold your hands here. We'll come back to Romans 10 for just a moment. The Scriptures are written to teach us something about who Jesus Christ is, what He has done, and why He did it. In Romans, chapter 10, verse 13, the apostle says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then he tells us how many women come to call upon the name of the Lord. How many shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they be moving him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be cynic? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good faith. but they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed thy report? Serving faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Here is the importance of gospel preaching. God has sent his servants with his word into the world to proclaim the gospel. Apart from that blessed proclamation of the gospel, faith is an utter impossibility. I'm talking about real faith. I'm talking about faith in biblical terms. I'm talking about saving, justifying faith, that faith that leans hold of the Son of God, that faith to which God Almighty speaks eternal salvation. That faith cannot come apart from the preaching of the gospel.

And so the word of God is given so that we might have the knowledge of Jesus Christ in salvation. And then the word of God, the scriptures, were written for our patience. The word of God was written to teach us patience. I can think of nothing more needful, and yet nothing to which we are more averse than patience.

Listen to the Scriptures. Turn back to Psalm 27. Psalm 27 and verse 14. I keep trying to tell myself, and I keep trying to tell folks who listen to me, I tell older folks and I tell young folks, when you're oppressed and you want to do something here, you just feel like, I've got to do something, I've got to say something, I've got to do something, just wait. Just wait. Just wait. I don't mean just wait and have no thought. I don't mean just wait and have no desire. I don't mean just wait and have no feelings. I mean wait upon the Lord. Wait with an eye of faith, expectancy, and hope. Wait! God will do what needs to be done for you.

Look here in Psalm 27 and verse 14. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord."

Turn to Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. Solomon says in verse 5, as he instructs us in wisdom, as he gives profitable instruction, telling us to bind the word of God upon our necks and upon our hearts, he says in verse 5, with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." You can't do both. You can't do both. You cannot trust the Lord and lean to your own understanding. You must either lean upon yourself, or lean upon Him. Trusting the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways, acknowledge him as Lord, acknowledge him as sovereign, acknowledge him as your master as well as your savior, and he shall direct thy paths."

Great! The scriptures are written to teach us patience, to wait on the Lord for the fulfillment of his purpose, wait on the Lord to reveal his will to you, wait on the Lord to perform his work, wait on the Lord to direct your path.

So many times, people look at this business of preaching as though it were a business. They look at this thing of the Church and Kingdom of God as though it were a business, and they say, we've got to make something happen. In the Kingdom of God, we don't make anything happen. We don't even try to make anything happen. We wait to see what God does, that's all. We cast our bread from the waters, and we wait. We sow the seed, and we wait. We wait upon God. We do not dare attempt to build the kingdom of God with the arm of the flesh. We do not dare attempt to build up the church and kingdom of God by the gimmicks and trickery and devices of man, but rather we just preach the Word and wait. And as God is pleased to apply His Word affectionately to the hearts of children and sinners, He builds up His kingdom.

And He may do it the way we think it ought to be done, and He may do it exactly opposite the way we think it ought to be done. He may build it with the folks that we think he ought to build it with, or he may build it with folks that we never dreamed he'd build it with. But we simply proclaim the word, and we call upon God, and we wait. We preach, and we wait. We pray, and we wait. We raise, and we wait. But all we do is simply cast out the word and wait for God to make it effectual.

If there's any glaring, glaring, glaring thing Contrary to the scriptures, in the religious age of our day, it is the simple fact that those who do not know the gospel of God's grace cannot wait upon God to build his kingdom. In this religious age, folks who say, God, you step aside, we'll take care of this. You're not doing things through your word, you're not doing things through the gospel. We'll build up your kingdom, we'll establish your church, we'll get centered in your kingdom, and with every kind of hook and crook imaginable, churches are being built in the name of God. But I'm telling you, it is not so. There's simply a pretense at building the church of God. God's church and God's kingdom is built through the preaching of the word by God himself. He just waits. He just waits.

In this congregation, in the last sixteen years, the Lord has graciously opened doors literally around the world. I stand constantly amazed that God has been pleased to give us the means of ministry he's given us. Just this past week, while I was gone, I got a letter from a fellow in Ireland who's wanting to know if he can get some tapes for tape ministry, literally around the world, just sending tapes out. And of course, he'll get them. But the Lord just, he opens doors, one after the other, one after the other.

Everything I have tried in the days that God has, since God called me to preach the gospel, everything I have tried to do for the last 29 years, everything I've put my hand up and said, this is what I ought to do, this is what I ought to do, every single thing, Larry, has just fallen to nothing. Just fallen to nothing. Nothing. I've watched God open doors. My soul, twenty men, couldn't go by hoping. I must not open doors and do things we could not possibly imagine having accomplished. We just simply learn to wait, and God will establish His Word. God will establish His Kingdom.

It is written in Isaiah 28 verse 16, He that believeth will not make haste. And I'm telling you that just exactly to the degree that we believe God will not make haste. Just exactly to the degree that we believe God will wait for him. And then thirdly, the scriptures are written for our comfort. The children of God have for their bread the word of God. The source of all comfort is the volume of inspiration It is my responsibility as the servant of God to minister comfort to God's elect. He says to all who preach the gospel, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Speak ye comfortably unto Jerusalem, speak to the heart of my people, and declare that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received in the Lord's hand double for all her sins. And God delights, oh God delights, to comfort His Don't you? Don't you?

I'm at the age now, my daughter's grown and married, and so I'm at the age of reminiscence. I was sitting in the airport the other day watching a little girl toddling along about every step and a half she'd fall, you know. I said, boy, I remember that. I remember those days.

But I tell you one of the most delightful things a father will ever do for a child. is when that child's in trouble, to comfort the child. Oh, what blessed days, when she would come to my lap, and my arms, and my counsel, for comfort. That just, oh, that thrills a father's heart, to be able to comfort a child in need. It doesn't matter whether the child's two or twenty. If you can comfort that child, will you listen to me? He delights in it.

Let not your heart be troubled, our Savior said. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house and many mansions, any one or so I would have told you, I'm going to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself at where I am, there you may be also.

Turn to Hebrews 13, listen to what he says. Hebrews 13, verse 5, Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly or confidently say, The Lord is my help. Rex, he said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you.

That means you can stay with confidence no matter where you are, no matter what you face, no matter what you endure. The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what men shall do unto me. No reason for me to be afraid. God's my comforter.

And then the Scripture says here that the Word of God was written that we might have That word, hope, as it's used in the scriptures with reference to believers, as it's used describing the grace of God given to us, is not the kind of word of hope that we would use Friday night and pour down rain, go to bed and say, Boy, I hope the basement's not leaking.

That's not the word. That's a hope without basis, that's a hope without any foundation, that's a hope without any reason to believe that it shall come to pass. But this hope that is expressed in the Scriptures as being a gracious act of the heart, this hope is a confident expectation, a confident expectation

And Paul tells us here that the scriptures were written that we might have comfort and that we might have hope, confident expectation before God. Faith looks to the past, believing what God has said and what God has done confidently. Hope looks to the future, believing what God has promised, and what God has promised he will do confidently. That's what hope is.

Hope has reference to those things that have not yet been brought to pass. We look to the Lord Jesus Christ, our God, and we learn of those glorious things that are promised us in him, and we have a good hope through grace. That is, we have a confident expectation of eternal life, a confident expectation of everlasting acceptance with God, a confident expectation of the resurrection of our bodies.

What's the basis of this hope? How this earth can sinful men and women look a holy God squarely in the face? How this earth can men and women, depraved, sinful, corrupt, helpless men and women like look eternity in the face, and have confident hope.

Our hope is Christ. That's all. Will you hear me? Our hope is Christ. He is our hope. I don't mean we simply have hope in Him, I mean He is our hope. We have no hope apart from Him. His blood, His righteousness, His grace, His power, His intercession, He is our hope, and the basis of our hope is the word of our God.

Remember what it says here in John chapter 3 and verse 36? Let me ask you, let me ask you, do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, do you trust Jesus Christ alone, His blood alone for the atonement of your sins? Do you? Do you trust His righteousness alone to give you acceptance with God? Do you trust His grace alone to hold you steadfast unto everlasting life? Do you trust Him and Him alone as your Lord and Savior? Do you?

I can't say much. I don't presume to say much, but this I say with confidence. I trust Him. I just, I have no other trust. I recognize I am a sinner, and I have never had a thought, a feeling, an emotion, much less a word, a word or a deed worthy of God's acceptance.

Now, this is what God says, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. That's what he said. That's what he said. Now, either he's as good as he were, or he's not. Our basis of hope for everything is what God says. I believe on his Son. Do you?

Now, this is the purpose of scripture as a whole. All that is written in the book of God is written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. And in the word of God, the Holy Spirit has taken very special, specific care that each of the words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ from the cross be recorded for our learning, for our patience, and for our hope.

As you know, there were seven things specifically spoken by our Lord Jesus when he suffered the wrath of God and the curse of the law as our substitute. I want us to look at those things, I'll wrap this up, and I want to give you those seven statements, those seven words from the cross, and I want you to see how they describe for us who Christ is, what he has done and what he is doing on behalf of children's I can't begin to add to what's already been said concerning these seven statements from our Lord. Mountains of words have been spoken, volumes have been written, many, many thousands of sermons have been preached, and I'm not about to try to add to those things. I simply want to give you a glimpse, if God will enable me, of what I see in these seven statements.

Sometimes I think it's good to look at things up in one message like this and just look at them briefly, but get them all in one bundle so we can see the direction of Scripture. The only fear I have as I attempt to preach on these seven words from the cross is the fear of reducing these tremendous, astonishing statements to nothing but homiletical points of dry doctrine and lifeless theology. These seven words from the cross are the very words of our great God and Savior, spoken as He engaged the forces of hell and endured the indescribable wrath of God in the place of sinners.

The hymn writer said,

The enormous load of all my guilt was on my Savior laid,
With rose as with a garment he for sinners was arrayed,
And in the horrid pains of death he wept,
He prayed for me.

Love and embrace my guilty soul when nailed to the tree." Oh, love, amazing! Love beyond the reach of human tongue, love which shall be the subject of an everlasting song. William Cowper said, and I must say again, "'Ere since, by faith, I saw the stream, thy flowing, willing supply, redeeming love, hath been my theme. shall be till I die. Now follow with me through the scriptures. Let's turn to Luke 23 first. The first word from the cross spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ is found in Luke 23 and verse 34. Luke 23 and verse 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive Oh, what a suitable word to come from his lips first. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Here I see Christ, our Mediator. Here is the Son of God, suffering by the hands of wicked men. Suffering with wicked men. Suffering as a wicked man. And yet, pray for those men who made him suffer. Nowhere else will you see such grace. You ought to see it in me. We ought to see it in one another. But we haven't yet arrived at such tremendous love as this.

is enduring the humiliation, the pain, with the spit of men on his face, with the bruises of men on his face, with the lacerations of men on his back, with the sores on his face, where men have plucked out the beard off his face, with the sores of that crown piercing his brow, unashamedly they know not what they do.

There is one Mediator between God and men, and that Mediator is the man in Christ Jesus. He is our Mediator. Now, the fact is, we've got to have one. We've got to have one. You can't come to God without a Mediator. That's the reason priesthood was established in the Old Testament. God was teaching us that you cannot approach me without a Mediator, and that Mediator must be a man of God's choosing, and that Mediator must be a man with a suitable sacrifice, and that Mediator must be one who is accepted of God. That Mediator must be himself. God Almighty! You can't come to me apart from one who is accepted and worthy of me himself. And Jesus Christ is the only one.

and Levi, those men were only types and representatives. Jesus Christ alone is a Mediator worthy of God's acceptance. Jesus Christ is our Mediator, comes praying, and He is heard. He meets all of these qualifications as the Mediator between God and men. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by faith. He declared that with his blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and he prays for us. I pray for them. I pray not for the Lord, but I pray for them, he said. He said to Peter, Peter, Satan desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. And though he didn't verbally say it, we know that he did say it, because in Providence it happened. He said, and I'm going to let him run you through his seal. I'm going to let him run you through his seal. Nevertheless, I pray for thee. And because I pray for thee, though Satan's desired to have you, and though he will run you through his seal, and you will think everything is gone. Everything will be all right." He didn't say, if you're converted. He said, when thou art converted. When I'm done with Satan, and when I'm done with what he will do to me, then I'm telling him, everything will be all right. I pray for you.

Will you hear him, Bobby Estes? He said, We don't need to pry into what he says. We don't need to pry and find out how he prayed. We don't need to pry and say, well, what kind of mediator or intercessor is he? He is the God of man mediator! He has prayed for me! If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sin. He who makes intercession for us is himself the atonement for sin, by whom God's justice is satisfied. He is the righteous one whom God cannot turn away." The second word is also found here in Luke 23, verse 43. Luke 23 and verse 43. In verse 42, the penitent thief turned to the Lord Jesus and said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Here I see Christ our King. Even as He hung upon the cross suffering the untold agony of God's wrath and justice, the Lord Jesus Christ reigns as Lord and King over all things. Here He is, the sovereign King, the ruler of God's kingdom, saving whom He will. This penitent thief is the object of His mercy. Here is the King of grace, opening a door which no one else could open, and no one could ever shut. He said, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Hear the Prince of Peace give peace that no man could give. The King of Glory promises mercy which no man could ever merit.

Would you obtain mercy? Would you? Do you need mercy? I mean mercy. Like the Spirit of the Thief, do you mean that the King of Heaven should speak peace to your soul? come to him like this thief did, and call on him like this thief did, Lord, remember me. Lord, remember me. Acknowledge him as your Lord. Call on him in faith, and he'll remember you in mercy. In fact, if you acknowledge him as your Lord, if you call on him in faith, it is because he has from eternity remembered you in mercy.

" God remembered me. These days, you see tracts everywhere, books now written. You can call them books, and you get to the end of the tract, to the end of the book, and have a little paragraph called the sinner's prayer. What utter nonsense. If God Almighty ever speaks to your heart, you won't need somebody telling you how to pray. You'd be like this Ira Finnegan woman, Lord have mercy! Like that publican, God be merciful to me, the sinner! Like this thing here, Lord remember me! He hears the cry that looks to him in vain. I'll go to Jesus, though my sin hath like a mountain road, I know this corpse, I'll enter in whatever may oppose. I will to the gracious king approach, whose scepter must against. Perhaps he will command my touch, and then this sinner lives.

" Delightful thought. A sinner never died. Salvation is of the Lord. Grace comes to men. from the throne of grace, and the King who sits upon that throne is Jesus Christ our Savior. He's been exalted and given a power and a name above every name, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him.

All right, now turn to John 19. The third word spoken by our Lord as He hung upon the cross is found here in John chapter 19, verses 26 and 27. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Here I see the Lord Jesus Christ as our representative and example. And this is important. Even in his agonies, even while inverting the wrath of God, even while he suffers the penalty of our sins, even as he fulfills all the stipulations of the covenant, while he was engaged in accomplishing eternal redemption for us, as he was satisfying the justice of God, our Lord Jesus never neglected his responsibilities in this world as a man. Never neglected them. While he walked on this earth, our Savior, as our representative and example, deliberately gave attention to all the responsibilities of manhood, even in the time of his dying agony. That is to say, he fulfilled all righteousness, he did everything that it was right for a

And as such, he both was our representative and our example. He was circumcised because the law required that a child, a male child born in Israel, be circumcised on the eighth day. And so on the eighth day, his parents brought him to the temple, and he was circumcised according to the law.

He was subject to his parents in all things, because the Scriptures require that all men and women yield obedience to authority, and that authority of God Himself is represented in mom and dad. I could spend a little while talking about this, but you parents, and you who shall be parents, it is your responsibility, it is your responsibility to speak to it, that your sons and daughters not only obey your word, but that they give respect and reverence and honor to you as you are the representative of God the Father over them.

" And this man, Christ Jesus, yielded subjection and obedience to his parents. He is God himself, but as a man, he spoke reverently and respectfully to his parents.

And then our Lord Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He came to John, and John said, I'm not going to baptize you. I need for you to baptize me. And our Lord said, Suffer it to be so now, to fulfill all righteousness.

Now, his act of baptism was not in any way in itself a fulfillment of the righteousness of the law. Well, how does he fulfill righteousness, then, by being baptized? It was symbolically the fulfillment of all righteousness. Our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized by John so that symbolically he said, by this shall I fulfill righteousness by my complete obedience to God even unto death. And so our Lord was buried as a dead man in the watery grave. And He was raised up out of the watery grave, even as He was raised for our justification on the third day, and ascended up into glory.

Our Lord Jesus was raised up out of the watery grave, confessing the gospel that He Himself would establish by His obedience. And that's what we do in baptism. When men and women are converted by God's grace, they are commanded to confess Christ and to leave His baptism. And in our baptism, we identify ourselves with Christ and with His gospel in His death, in His burial, and in His resurrection. We testify before men publicly. We believe and rest our souls upon the fact that we died with Jesus Christ, therefore we are buried with Him in baptism. But we're not going to stay dead. We have died legally, but we shall rise with Him even as we have risen with Him spiritually, and so we rise up out of the watery grave to walk with Him in the newness of life as we shall walk with Him in the newness of life forever.

Our Lord Jesus, as a man, while He walked on this earth, attended the synagogue, kept the Sabbath day, and fulfilled all things required of a man in this world. And as our Lord Jesus was made a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, he now takes care of his responsibilities as a man to his mother.

He fulfilled all righteousness for us as our representative, and that righteousness is imputed to us. And he fulfilled all righteousness for us as our example, and that righteousness sets the way before us, telling us how we're to live in this world. Our Lord said, to His disciples, you see what I've done to you. I've washed your feet, I've met your needs, I've cared for you, I've humbled myself to you, I have done that which was needful for you just for your comfort and refreshment. Now, what I've done to you, you do it to each other. You humble yourself to serve one another's for their comfort and refreshment. That's all.

Well, I wouldn't let so much starve to death. That ain't what it's talking about. It's talking about washing feet. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You need me. That's not what it's talking about. He's talking about washing feet. That's not necessary. That's not necessary at all. That's not anything that involves life or death. That involves love and kindness and graciousness. Just humble yourself, take a little time, take a little effort, and wash each other's feet. Wash each other's feet. Minister to one another's needs.

Our Lord takes care to provide for his mother, and gives us an example of what Paul later says, that the man provide not for his own, even for those of his own household, especially for those of his own household. He's denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. So there is the responsibility of a man in his household to care for his household specifically, meeting the needs of his household, regardless of what it costs him to do so. And there is the responsibility of believing men and women to care for God's household, meeting the needs of God's household and God's family, regardless of what it costs. turn to Matthew 27 and verse 46. Here is the fourth word spoken by our Lord from the cross. He says in verse 46, the last part of the verse, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? I see here Christ our The Son of God, when he was made to be sin for us, was forsaken by God.

Believers, oh yes I do. Understand it? I simply can't. I can't. Preach it? Yes, yes, I preach it. I keep on trying. But explain it? never. Never. I don't even make an effort at explaining it. Martin Luther studied this text of Scripture one day for hours. And he slammed his Bible closed, got up and slammed his desk, and he said, God, forsaken of God, my God, no man can understand that. And he was exactly right. He was exactly right.

This is what the Scripture means when it says, Our Savior descended into hell for us. Is not this the essence of hell? You who perish under the wrath of God without Jesus Christ the Lord shall be forever forsaken of God with a conscious, everlasting increasing awareness that God has abandoned him. That's what Christ did to him. This is the cry of substitution. for He, the Lord God Almighty, hath made Him to be sin for us. He who knew no sin, that we, sinners though we are nothing but sinners, that's what we are, that we might be made the righteousness of God Himself. Exactly as He was made to be sin, we are made to be righteous by divine imputation. Exactly As He was made to suffer for sin, we shall be rewarded for righteousness, not for ours, but for His.

" You understand that? Christ is our substitute. This is the cry of satisfaction. The Lord Jesus met our death, bore our and cried unto God, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me, as he paid thy debt? Jesus paid it off. All the debt I owed. Sin had left the crimson skin. Listen here. He washed

Then in John 19 again, we read in verse 28, After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, he uttered this fifth word from the cross, and said, I thirst. Here is Christ the man, Christ the man.

Some have trouble with the Deity of Christ. I don't. He is God manifest in the flesh, God over all, blessed forever. All that God is, Jesus Christ is, for He is God. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead Fatherland.

Some folks have trouble with the humanity of Christ. I don't. All that man is, He is, except Christ is all that we are except sin, and he was made to be sin for us, because Christ is a man. He said, I thirst. That's the word of a man. Our Lord said to the Samaritan woman, give me to drink. Those are the words of a man.

Our Lord, who made the oceans, the rivers, the creeks, the lakes, and the ponds. Our Lord, whose hands open the heaven and send the rain upon the thirsty earth." We complain because it's too dry, and He gives us a little more water than we want, but He opens the heavens and pours out His rain upon the thirsty earth. He breaks up the fountains of the deep, He causes the springs to be opened in the mountains, and the deep wells of water are all His. Do you reckon he'd ask us for something to drink? If he's a man, he will. If he's a man, he will.

Imagine, God Almighty, who holds the oceans in the hollow of His hand, came to a woman, a woman of horrible reputation, just an adulteress, just an adulteress. been married to five men. Because you're married to him, and now she had five of them. And the one she was living with at the time wasn't her husband, just an adulteress. And our Lord Jesus came to that woman and said, give me some water. Give me some water. It was His object to grant her the water of life, and that He did.

But I'm telling you that he who is God is a man in human flesh. And he cries here, I thirst. This is the point I want you to see. In all things, our Lord Jesus Christ was made likened to his brethren. Our Savior is one of us. He's really one of us.

Turn to Hebrews, Chapter 2, for a moment. Hebrews, Chapter 2, verse 16. Verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. He didn't say the seed of Adam, he said the seed of Abraham. He didn't come here to save Adam's seed, he came to save Abraham's seed. He came to save God's covenant people, God's elect.

Wherefore, since he came to save Abraham's seed, wherefore in all things it behooved him, it was necessary for him, if he would save me and me, to be made right unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. for in that he himself hath suffered being tempted." He's able to suffer, he's able to help men that are tempted. It is true.

Our Lord Jesus miraculously gave his people water from the rock. He miraculously gave his children streams in the desert, and he still does, but never once did he perform a miracle to relieve his own distresses. but to meet his own needs. He's a man like us. A man just like us. And as a man, he cried, I thirst.

Sixthly, look in John 19 verse 30. In John chapter 19 and verse 30, this sixth word is found from the lips of our Savior. He cried with a loud voice, He is finished. He is Christ our Redeemer. The first recorded words of our Lord were these, I must be about my Father's business. His final words were these. He is finished. I came to do my Father's business, I've done it. I came to do my Father's will, I've done it. I came to fulfill Muhammad's purpose. I've done it. I came to put away my people's sin. I've done it. I came to satisfy the justice of God. I've done it. I came to fulfill all righteousness. I've done it. I came to meet and satisfy all the tribes and shadows and prophecies of the Old Testament. I've done it. I came here to save my people from their sins. It's finished. it's finished. Finished as God Himself had ordained it from everlasting.

The Lord Jesus Christ had now accomplished everything that He came here to accomplish for His people. He said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God! And now, He says, it's finished. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

All right, one more time. Let's look at Luke 23. Luke 23. Here's the seventh word spoken by our Lord as He suffered in our place upon the cross. Luke 23 and verse 46. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, when He had cried what we just read, it is finished, He said, I commend my spirit." And having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Here I see our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our exalted Savior and our accepted Redeemer. Because His work was finished, because atonement was made, because justice was now satisfied, Because he had made an offering for sin, by which God himself looks and says, that's enough! Now the Lord Jesus took his place, seated on the right hand of the majesty on high.

Look in Hebrews chapter 10 for just a second. Hebrews 10 and verse 11. Every priest, remember I told you you've got to have a priest to meet the HR. Every priest ended daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, they could never take away sin. They never could. They could never put away one sin. But this man, this priest, this mediator, who is God and man in one person, after he had offered one sacrifice himself for sins, he offered one sacrifice for sins forever, and when he finished, he sat down on the right hand of God. from henceforth accepting on the merit of his sacrifice, till his enemy be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath protected forever them that are sanctified."

When our Lord Jesus sat down, we sat down in Him. When He rested, we rested in Him. Because He's accepted, we're accepted in Him. Our Lord Jesus, our great High Priest, fulfills all the tasks of the Old Testament sacrifices, priests and mediators. He was one priest. He lives, though they are dead. Our Savior takes one sacrifice into heaven's glory, though they came with many sacrifices in the Old Testament times in the Holy of Holies. Our Lord Jesus, by His one sacrifice, has obtained eternal redemption for us. They never could. Our Savior has put away our

Now these seven words from the cross have been recorded in the word of God for our learning, our patience, our comfort, and our hope. Take them home with you. Read them again. I hope you've taken notes so you can go back over the message. Meditate upon them, and ask God the Holy Spirit to apply them to your heart for learning, that you may know Christ. for patience, that you may wait for Christ, for comfort, that you may rest in Christ, for hope, that you may look for Christ, with expectation, desire, and confidence. Amen.

Seven Words From The Cross

What does the Bible say about the purpose of Scripture?

Why is gospel preaching essential for salvation?

What does the Bible say about hope for believers?

How do we know Christ's redemptive work is finished?

Why is patience emphasized in the Christian life?

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Seven Words From The Cross

What does the Bible say about the purpose of Scripture?

Why is gospel preaching essential for salvation?

What does the Bible say about hope for believers?

How do we know Christ's redemptive work is finished?

Why is patience emphasized in the Christian life?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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