The Last Seven Words of Good Friday
First B Jackson
2023-04-10

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

----
Well, good morning, everybody, and happy resurrection Sunday. How about a little call and response? Anybody grow up with a call and response in their church? Maybe a few? Alright, babe.

How about this? I say he is risen, and then you say he's risen indeed. You ready? He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

And let's let's stand up to do this one more time. He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Amen. What do you say we sing of it? The the songs today tell the story, really. The songs speak for themselves. What But do you say we sing of his resurrection?

He rose. Christ rose. Low in the grave.

Wow. Should we do the announcements at all this morning? He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Alright. I guess that was a note from a lord above. Would you stand back up? We're gonna just keep on singing sincerely, please. Thank you, Jesus.

No announcements this morning. Just sing on. I'm sure they'll figure out how to do it later.

Can I share this from acts? It says, but God raised Jesus from the dead because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus. He's defeated death, hell, and the grave. He's given us new life.

That is why we're here. That is why we're singing right now these praises to him. He so deserves them because he is... He has defeated death, hell, and the grave. And by belief and trust in him, we have eternal life.

Because he lives, we also live. That verse is so short, but it is such a profound verse, isn't it? Because he lives, we also live.

In the dark, we were waiting to reveal the kingdom come

Let's sing that chorus again. He deserves our praise. Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service.

I'll invite friends from the classical school to share a little special music.

Ray, would you pray?

Sure. Lord God Almighty, we stand in awe looking out right here this morning and seeing people that are just overcome with the emotion of knowing that your unmerited favor has been offered, Lord. Your free gift has been given and received, and it's overwhelming, Lord, to think about who we are and that you'd care about us at all. In Jesus' name, Lord, and moving forward with the good news of the gospel, that Jesus traded his perfect life for our imperfect ones. We are an Easter people, Lord.

Thank you for the resurrection. Thank you, Jesus, for walking it out under the power of the spirit. I pray, Lord, that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead be very active here this morning, that we would sense it, that we'd know it, that we'd feel it, that we'd get fresh wind from it, fresh fire, Lord, that you would move as you want to move among us, through us, to those around us, to the very ends of the earth. Lord, would you do what only you can do? Would you allow us the strength to do the parts that you're asking us to do?

It's at this time we come and we take up an offering. It's an every Sunday thing. We do it all the time. But it is symbolic of what we are what we're giving back. So God, I pray that you'd take whatever it is that anybody's given back, if it's their time or their talent or their resources, Lord, I pray that you would glorify yourself in it.

Lord, I ask that you'd multiply, this to do your kingdom's work. May we be active doing your will and your way, this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, man. That's Evan and Julia Campbell and Emily Feasor.

Evan, what was that?

That was Trio by Archangelo Califant.

Okay. I was going to repeat that, but I don't think I can. Arcangelo Caliphant is a baroque trio. That's what he I think he said. It's time for children's church.

And when they stomp out of here, they're going to open up some seats. If you want to move forward, you're welcome to. If you're standing in the back, we'll all close our eyes while you come forward and fill in. No, I'm just kidding. If you want to come in, you can, okay?

There will be a little space up here. Welcome. I'm glad you all are here this morning. I'm glad to be here this morning. It's Easter twenty twenty three and I for those of you who've been coming around for a long time, we normally what I normally do is go chronologically through the scripture, just the next passage, whatever is next is what we go to next.

And that's the way I like to do things. And then when we get to things like Christmas or Easter, feel like I gotta tell the story. I gotta tell the story. So I break away from it and I go to it. Now, I've told this story a lot of different times, in a lot of different ways, sometimes from John, sometimes from Matthew, sometimes from Mark or Luke.

But this Sunday, I'm gonna do sort of a classic form of a sermon that I've never done before. This has been around a long time. They started preaching this within months of the crucifixion itself. And so I am going to consider the last recorded seven words. If you come from a Catholic or Lutheran background, you might hear the seven words of Christ or maybe another denomination, but it's not common for Baptist to hear that.

But we're kinda just straight down the middle as close as I can throw it down the strike zone. I try not to go too far inside or outside. The last recorded seven words of Good Friday, but in light of resurrection Sunday. This So is what we're gonna do. And I was thinking about the last words of Christ because you pay attention to people's last words.

Right? When they have something, to say on their deathbed, it's really good to pay attention to what it is, and people have all kinds of different things. But as I was considering the last words, I wanted to think about what were the first recorded words of Christ. In the New Testament, what do we have? What's the first thing that we heard from him?

He's a baby. He spake not a word. No, no, no. He cried. Well, it doesn't say that.

The cattle are lowing. All the songs have guesses, but we don't have anything recorded until this. And this is at 12 years old when Mary and Joseph joined in the band going back up towards Galilee, and he is there in the temple, and he's teaching the temple elders and doctors. And when they finally caught up with him and found him, Joseph and Mary were upset with him and said, what in the world, Jesus? What is going on?

And they said, why did you even have to look for me? Didn't you know I must be about my father's business? Isn't that good? So he's from an early age about his father's business. And I think that that's good to consider.

I mean, he says is important, and we try to give special attention to everything that Jesus says as well as the whole rest of the Bible. It's about him, but we'll go forward today considering the last words. This is a painting by Salvador Dali. I don't normally bring Salvador Dali into things. He's an unusual sort.

This is called Christ of St. John on the Cross. Christ of St. John of the Cross, I'm sorry. Christ of St.

John of the Cross. It's nineteen fifty one, it's 81 inches by 46, pretty big. So it's a little taller than I am and a little wider than I am. Nineteen fifty one. It doesn't show the typical expression you see on Jesus' face because it doesn't show his face.

It doesn't show the blood that you typically see. And I don't know why, but he's a surrealist, so maybe he had a reason, I'm not sure. But he was moved by a drawing and that's what got him to paint this painting. And the drawing was this. It's a it's a unique perspective.

All of us have seen a thousand images of Christ on a on a cross like this and straight on. There are two thieves on either side, it's a straight on shot. That's the norm for a crucifixion. But he saw something in this and thought, that's a different perspective than I've seen before. And that made him go with this.

Now Christ is there lit from the same place that Saint John of the Cross's image is viewed from, and he's hovering over a world. If you could see the bottom down there, you'd see three different figures, and he's looming large over the earth. Saint John of the Cross' image is two and a quarter inches by two inches. It's just a little bitty thing like this, but it it moved him to do something. Five hundred or four hundred years of difference between the two.

I don't know. I just liked it and I thought I'm going to show it. Just a little bit of a different perspective. And since I'm going from a different perspective, this morning, it struck me as important. This is another one that's written at the foot of a crucifix by Victor Hugo.

Victor Hugo had gone through quite a bit of difficulty, let's say. And I love this. You who weep, come to this God for he weeps. We talked about Jesus crying over Jerusalem last week and crying at Mary and Martha's place when Lazarus had been dead for four days. You you who weep, y'all come to this God for he weeps.

You who suffer, come to him for he cures. You who tremble, come to him for he smiles. I love that. And you who pass, come to him for he remains, he endures. This you who pass, it's not just the one walking by.

This is all of us are going to. We have it once to die. Right? All of those who are subject to earthly death come to him because he endures. Resurrection Sunday is really, really important.

He's the first fruits, right? This is a different perspective too. This is James Tissot, I think. I think it's French. And it's an interesting perspective.

This is from Jesus' view on the cross, looking down. That was 1890. I was an art major before I was a pastor. Sometimes it calms my nerves to go over some of this stuff. So our typical method here for presenting a sermon is this.

We go, what does the text say? Just what does it say? And then what does it mean? If there's any kind of, clarity that we can bring from looking at the grammar or looking at the history or historical context or other passages of scripture we try to do that. What does it say?

What does it mean? And then landing on some sort of exhortation, I hope. Sometimes I just put it in your lap and I don't tell you what the exhortation is. But what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do once we've heard what it has to say and we kind of know, at least in part what it means?

What are we going to do about it? So this one, today is going to be slightly different because I'm not going with just one text. I'm going multiple different places. It's sort of a harmony of the gospels approach, which is what we've been doing. But we're going to say, what did he say?

What did Jesus say on the cross? What words did he use and what did he mean by it? And then what are we going to do about it? Okay. So that's individually and collectively.

What are we going to do about it? Seven words. Might say seven statements because they're more than just words, each thing that he spoke. And I'm also gonna tell you, I believe that the Bible is true, and I believe that God loves us, and he wants our good. He's leaning towards us with grace.

He's leaning towards us with unmerited favor. So consider this, to whom is Jesus speaking in each of these places too? That's something. The first statement right here it is. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

This is profound. This Jesus speaks while people are nailing him to the cross, and the criminals who are being crucified on either side of him are reviling him, it says in the text. They were reviling him. So there it is in Luke 23. There were also others.

There, criminals led with him to be put to death. And when they had come to a place called Calvary, there they crucified him and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. And Jesus said, father, forgive them for they do not know what they do. If you look just at that, you might say, oh, he's praying for those criminals to be forgiven. Could could be that, actually.

Grammatically, it certainly could be that. With the other text, speaking of the Roman soldiers, it seems, and we have taken it for centuries, that he was praying for the Roman soldiers who were nailing him to the cross to be forgiven. And I often, when counseling, will go to that place of forgiveness. If our standard for forgiveness in Colossians and Ephesians is that we are to be forgiven one another just as God in Christ has forgiven us, if that's our standard, and you consider that he was praying for forgiveness for the people who were nailing him to the cross, That's pretty high standard. But father, forgive them.

So father, forgive them for they know not what they do. It's seven points, but they're quick. They're all like this. Alright? Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

If you look at that and you think to whom is he speaking, it makes it very, very plain and easy. Father. Oh, we've just been through a study of Jesus teaching his disciples to pray, and he says, when you pray, pray this way. Father, our father. Father, Jesus has a very special relationship with God.

To as many as have believed, he's given them the right to be children of God. That's true. You can be a son or a daughter of the king, but Jesus has this special relationship with father God. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do. Second statement.

Second statement is, assuredly, I say to you, today, you'll be with me in paradise. Amen. So the first one is about forgiveness. The second one, here's the... This is just continuing in Luke.

This the same place in the text that we just read the last one. The... One of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us. One of them. So it says in Matthew or Mark, I think, that that both of them were reviling him.

It says that one was crucified on the right and on the left. And here in Luke, says one of them who was was hanged there with him, blasphemed and saying, if you are the Christ, save yourself and us, mockingly. But the other one answering rebuked him saying, do you not even fear God, seeing that you are under the same condemnation? Here we are. And indeed, we justly, we are receiving the due reward of our deeds.

But this man this man has done nothing wrong. He recognized his own sinfulness, and he recognized Jesus' innocence. And then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Amen. And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.

Isn't that great? Had that guy done anything to deserve it? I've gone back to this thief on the cross a lot of times. He had not done anything to deserve it. Did he get baptized?

He did not get baptized. I don't even think they sprinkled him from down below. Definitely didn't get submerged. Right? No.

Had he anything else? If you consider that he was reviling him while he was on the ground, but then he hears him forgive the soldiers as they're nailing him up. And they stand him up, and he has a change of heart. He recognizes his own sin. He recognizes Jesus' innocence, and he just asked him.

Oh, I heard another pastor say, I've had it sent to me a couple times. It was Alistair Begg, I think, that says, can you imagine that guy's entry into heaven? It's like, what what... Not that it's gonna be this way, but what do you do... What did you...

What... What's going on? You know the old joke, Saint Peter's at the Pearly Gates. And what should... What happened that I should allow you in?

And why are you here? And the guy says, the man on the middle cross said so. That's pretty good. Basically, he turned to Jesus and asked him to remember him, and he said, assuredly, certainly, without a doubt. Humility.

God resists the proud. He gives grace to the humble. There was another guy there who continued to blaspheme. He gets no such promise. Assuredly, I say to you today, you'll be with me in paradise.

That's the second statement. Who's he speaking to? Well, assuredly, I say to you, as to the penitent one or the penitent thief. And it can be any penitent one. I think that we recognize in our guilt and recognize in Jesus' innocence, recognizing that what he said he was dying for was the sins of the world.

Right? That's what he said. If we trust him like this penitent thief, he says, today, you'll be with me in paradise. Third statement. Woman, behold your son and behold your mother.

These were spoken at the same time. If we went back to Tissot's painting and looked, you'd see Mary, Jesus' mom Mary, and you'd see the beloved disciple John there. And looking down from the cross, he wants to take care of his mama, And he wants to take care of his beloved disciple. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. And when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son.

And then he said to that disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, that disciple took her to his own home. So that's great. That's about relationship. Right?

Human relationships are important. We need to be taking care of one another. So this third statement, if you want to know who is he speaking to, he's speaking to Mary and to John. But if we're considering what are we going to do about this, should we not be taking care of one another? Taking care of one another, taking care of people whose people have been taken out of the picture, widows and orphans in their time of distress, aging parents, aging grandparents.

We should be taking care of one another as directly woman, and don't let that sound dismissive. That's a common term of endearment at the time. It always kind of stands out in English, woman. But woman, behold your son and behold your mother. Fourth statement.

Man. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark and Matthew both tell this one almost exactly the same. I'll read both. Mark fifteen thirty three says, now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and, which is translated, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew says, now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, That is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This one is from Psalm 22. Psalm twenty two one in particular.

I don't have it up on the screen. For me, Psalm 22 is a messianic Psalm. For me, every time I think of Psalm 22, I think of a baby dedication we did here one time. We don't do infant baptisms. We do baby dedications.

It's kind a dry baptism. And I'm standing over here, and I'm trying to get to Proverbs twenty two six in my Bible, and I'm flipping through. And I landed in Psalms on Psalm twenty two six instead of... I'm gonna read it for you. Add a baby dedication.

Twenty two six says, but I am a worm and not a man. I'm a disgrace of mankind and despised by all the people. Everyone who sees me shoots out the lip in derision. They sneer and they shake their heads saying, turn him over to the Lord. Let him save him.

This is not the text for a baby dedication. Proverbs 20 two:six says, train up a child in the way he should go and then he will not depart from it. If you get all the way down though to... I mean, you start at twenty two one, it says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It's a psalm of David.

He felt like he was alone. He felt like he had been abandoned by God. Far from my help are the words of my groaning. My God, I cry out by day, but you're not answering, and by night, and I have no rest. And then he turns a corner.

David's a man after God's own heart. He turns a corner and says, yet, you are holy and you are enthroned upon the praises of your people, Israel. In you, our fathers have trusted. I'm gonna keep on trusting. They trusted you and you rescued them.

To you, they cried out and they fled to you for safety. In you, they trusted and they were not disappointed. That's good. And so that is a song that all the Jews in the crowd would have known well. And when Jesus says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I mean, David is David. David is their hero in a lot of ways, and Jesus is quoting him and saying, I feel just like that. He is the word, by the way. Jesus is the word. He is the the communication of what God would have us know of himself.

And my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? There are times when it feels like you've been abandoned. So that's the fourth statement. Who is he speaking to or to whom is he speaking right here? Well, my God, my God, and he's doing it directly, you, God.

I'm here. And the answer to that question is he he did it on behalf of everyone who would ever put their faith in him. That was it. He traded his perfect record, his perfect life for anyone who says in humility, remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom. Remember me.

In in humility and penitence, I recognize my guilt, and I recognize your innocence. You didn't deserve to die, but you took my punishment. That was the rift in the godhead right there. The fifth statement. Fifth statement is, I thirst.

Jesus was 100% fully divine, but he's also 100% fully human, and he was thirsty. If you read much about war, I don't, honestly. Pascal does. She loves reading about World War II in particular. And one of the things from the battlefield is when people are bleeding out, they're so thirsty.

And rather than medicine, a lot of times what they're asking for is water. Just give me water. I thirst. This also from several of the messianic Psalms, we see that his tongue felt like a potsherd and was sticking to his mouth, and he was thirsty. So after this, this is from John 19.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, he'd done everything necessary. All things were now accomplished. But so that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, I thirst. This was another one of those messianic prophecies that he had done everything else necessary. Oh, there's one prophecy.

I'm thirsty. I I don't think it was quite like that. I think he was thirsty. The prophecy would be fulfilled, and it was. John says, that scripture might be fulfilled, said I thirst.

And that's the fifth statement. That's what an exclamation point. There's no punctuation in the Greek, but that that one is, emphatic. So to whom is he speaking there? Anybody who could do anything about it maybe?

The next verse says, now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine. They put it on hyssop. Oh, hyssop itself is throughout scripture is one of those, things that just keeps coming up. And it's what they were sprinkling the doorpost and the beams before the exodus. It comes up multiple times when they're consecrating items.

Just a little detail John adds. I don't know the theological significance of it, but just seeing the word kinda takes you back through the history of God taking care of Israel. I thirst. Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there. They filled a sponge with sour wine.

They put it on hyssop, and they put it to his mouth. Just when he tasted of it and recognized what it was, he didn't ask for more. He felt the full weight of, the gravity of the situation. Sixth statement. Sixth statement.

It's finished. It is finished. I love this. I did a whole sermon, Easter sermon on this a few years back. Tetelestai is the Greek word.

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. Now that it is finished is Tetelestai. There's the Greek word right there. And it's only used twice in the New Testament.

That form at least is used twice. It's important. The form of it is important. Teleo is the verb. And when he says, it is finished, the other time that is used is right there.

All things were now accomplished. That's a good translation in both cases. It's all things were now accomplished. It is finished. That's good.

So for you grammar nerds, I have to throw one slide at least in. Third person singular, indicative, perfect tense. Perfect tense is what is really, really matters now. But there's also this middle and passive voice, which is an ambiguous form in Greek. It's middle and passive.

It's that Jesus did this. It was his to do, and he himself did it. But it was also passive that all things had now been accomplished like by God. To end, to finish, to accomplish, or to pay from Taleo. So everything has been accomplished.

It's perfect. At one point in the past, something happened that stretches into eternity future. I think about this too. He said to him, this is back from his first words, didn't you know I had to be about my father's business? At this point right here, everything had been accomplished.

That his everything that he needed to do in his earthly span, everything that he needed to do had been done. It is finished. That's good. That's really good. That's really good news.

When we talk about the finished work of Christ on the cross, it comes out so like that that we just let it go over our head sometimes so we don't real... Realize that no. No. No. No.

It's finished. When Jesus ascended, we see him in his session. He has sat down at the right hand of God. He's interceding for you, and all that he needed to do on earth had been accomplished is a good thing because it keeps us from feeling like, I've gotta do more. I've gotta do more to earn this.

I gotta do more. I gotta do more. Will I ever be able to do enough humility before God and accepting what he has already done? It is accomplished. Trust him in that.

Didn't you know I must be about my father's business? He had done his father's business. To to whom is this one spoken? It is finished, exclamation point. To whom is he speaking?

I think he's speaking to all of us right there. I think that he's it's just a statement of fact. All that needed to be done has been done. Seventh statement, this is the last one. Gracious, we got ten minutes left.

We might sing two closing songs. Seventh statement is this, father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. This is from Luke twenty-three 46. Now was about sixth hour there was darkness fell over the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

That is no small feat. That temple veil is 60 feet tall, 30 feet wide, about six inches thick. Doesn't sound like a veil. When I think of a veil, I think of something you could see through. This is a big thick curtain, and it was ripped from top to bottom.

God was saying something. The holy of holies was now open at the cross. It is finished. He's opened the way. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, he said, father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

And having said this, he breathed his last. So that's the last of the seven statements. That one comes from Psalm 31, particularly it's verse five. Into your hand, David says, I entrust my spirit. You have redeemed me, Lord God of truth.

Now that's David saying that. David was a sinful guy. He was a man after God's own heart. Yes. He was blessed with the Holy Spirit and with God's salvation.

Yes. But he sinned, not just once. Sometimes it was escalating, but he was penitent. He cared that he had sinned. And he said, into your hand, entrust my spirit.

I trust you, Lord. You have redeemed me. You, the Lord God of truth. He recognized that humility before God was what it was about. And in his pride, he would sin.

Yes. But then when he recognized... I think of the time where, Nathan goes to him and has a little parable that helps him to see his sin, which is hard to do if you're going to the king and you're saying you're a sinful guy. He tells him a little story, and David recognizes, oh, I'm that guy. And immediately, he recognizes that, lord, I...

Don't remove your salvation from me. Please don't remove your Holy Spirit from me. I wanna land in that place where I know that I've been redeemed, and he does. Right here, into your hand. I entrust my spirit.

You've redeemed me, Lord God of truth. Now Psalms are songs. Psalms are songs. It's like Israel's hymn book. This is what?

Psalm thirty one five. I think this is from David's perspective, not from Christ's perspective, but he's just so full of the word of... He is the word of God. He's so full of it. Everything that he says smacks of everything that they should know.

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge. Let me never be put to shame. Why's Jesus being put to shame? That's the reason they did crucifixion the way they did it. Strip down.

In you, Lord, I've taken refuge. Let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, Lord, rescue me, David says. Incline your ear to me and rescue me quickly, Lord. Be a rock of strength for me, a stronghold to save me, for you are my rock and you are my fortress.

For the sake of your name, you will lead me and you will guide me. I trust you, Lord. You will put me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for you are my strength. Into your hands, I entrust my spirit. You have redeemed me, Lord God of truth.

Jesus appropriates this, but he's saying it from his own perspective. He doesn't say that part about being redeemed because what he's doing is redeeming. Right? He doesn't need redeeming. He doesn't need it because he is without sin.

When he says, father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. Well, who's he talking to? That one's obvious too, father. Father God, into your hands, I commit my spirit. That another reference to the Psalms, but he switches it up.

I I like this. Jesus' death is not different from Jesus' life. He's trusting God the whole time. First Peter, I love this passage from first Peter. This is speaking to the church.

This is speaking to, everyone who has ever, believed throughout all history past and the future up until that moment. For you have been called for this purpose because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you would follow in his steps. He who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return. While suffering, he did not threaten, but he kept on entrusting himself to the one who judges rightly or righteously. And he himself brought our sins in his body up on the cross so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.

This is why we celebrate Easter. By his wounds, we are healed. Amen. Amen. So if we had to boil it down to just seven words, the first word is about forgiveness.

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. That is the statement that Jesus made for those particular people who are nailing him to the cross, perhaps for the thieves on both sides, one of whom accepted. One of the soldiers, it says, in three of the gospels accepted. Forgiveness is a free gift that is being offered. He stands ready to save.

Second one is about salvation. Surely, you will be with me in paradise. There's no doubt. You will... Your soul is not in peril.

You can count on it. Salvation, relationship, human, earthly human relationships matter. He wanted to take care of his mom. He wanted to take care of his disciple. He wanted for them to be like family, and I think he wants for us to be like that too.

Abandonment. There's not a single one of us that does not at times feel abandoned. Jesus felt that way. There's nothing that happens to us. No temptation has overtaken us that's not common to people.

We sometimes feel abandoned. So did Jesus. He's a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He recognizes what that's like. He recognizes distress of being in want.

For his case, it is water. For yours, it might be something else. I don't know. But he he knows what it's like to be under distress. He knows what it's like to trust God even though he is under distress, and then it is finished as a word of triumph.

Amen. Isn't that good? It's finished. Really? Accepting it's the only thing left and reunion.

Father, in your hands, I commit my spirit. May we all have that on our minds and in our hearts, in our mouths. There are lots and lots and lots of people throughout the history of the church that have died with those words. I pray. I pray those are the last things I say.

Father, into your hands, commit my spirit. Amen. It's good. A word of reunion. Because of everything else, forgiveness, salvation, relationship, even abandonment, distress, lead to triumph.

That's Easter Sunday. But it's Good Friday in light of Easter Sunday, reunion. So I'd say the resurrection of Jesus is the greatest exclamation point ever. Right? That's usually what we talk about is resurrection and who came when and did what, we harmonize all that stuff.

But the truth is the reason we're here today is because Christ arose. So he had some other words. Since he was resurrected, he got a chance to have last words twice. More last words. This is the last thing he said before he ascended.

Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Because of everything that we've said, everything that he's done, everything he said on the cross that, I commit my spirit to you. I trust you. And if whatever happens, I know why I'm doing this. I'm here.

I know why I'm doing this. And and it says in Philippians that for this reason, because he humbled himself, God lifted him up and exalted him. Peter says he kept on entrusting himself to the one who judges rightly. And God's judgment on the death of Jesus was that he would be resurrected and given all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, Jesus says. And so he says, go ye therefore.

As you are going, therefore, be making disciples of all the nations. Be baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit, and be teaching them to observe all the things I've commanded you. How do you teach somebody to observe all the things that Christ has commanded us? You'd be doing it. Be doing what he commanded us.

Love one another. Bear with one another. Forgive one another. All the one another's of scripture. Be teaching them to observe all the things that I've commanded you.

And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. From the ages unto the ages, amen, so be it. That's the final word. He ascends into heaven. And that's where we are going to leave off.

Would you stand with us, and we're going to sing? We're Two singing two songs. It's Easter. I didn't do the announcements. Alright.

There's a lot of stuff going on here. I'm sure I've forgotten something. But, God is good and we are grateful. And if you want to join in, grab somebody and ask them what's going on and we'll tell you. Alright.

Graves in the Gardens.

World while I searched the world, but it couldn't fill me. Hands on the praise and treasures that they're not enough. Then you can't allow... Put me The failures that fall. Lord, you've seen them all.

You still call me friends. It's the God of mountains. Better than you, Lord. There's nothing. Nothing is better than you.

And you turn. And you turn bone into dancing. You give beauty for action. You turn shame into glory. You're the only one in there.

And you turn rays into Godhead. You turn bones into army. You turn seas into highways. You're the only again. You're the only better than you.

Oh, there's nothing

Scripture say the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and working in you.

I think I hit a wrong note there.

And that happens occasionally, doesn't it?

You called me. You You called me from the grave by name. Hey. You call me out of all my shame. I see the old despise And now I hear resurrection valve, living on the inside of Jesus.

You have given us freedom. No longer I'm by sin and darkness living in the light of your good. You have given us freedom. I'm dressed in your holy Your Holy Spirit. Spirit is in me.

I see the fast has been reaching. And now I hear your resurrection bow. You mean on the inside, Jesus. You have given us freedom. And no longer you pound us in the darkness living in the light of your goodness.

You have given us freedom. Freedom. Freedom. You have given us freedom. You have given us freedom.

My chains are gone. We're afraid. You have given us freedom. You have given us freedom. Hallelujah.

Amen. Amen. Thank you, Carl. As a benediction, take this one. Second Corinthians five seventeen says, this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, a new creation.

Old life is gone, and new life has begun. How's that for resurrection Sunday? In Jesus name, Lord, would you bless us to live out this new life? Amen. Amen.