Words of Christ on the Cross, Part 3

John 19:30; Luke 23:46

“30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Luke 23:46

“46 Jesus called out with a loud voice,  “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

There was a great darkness when Jesus died.  It was as if the light of the world had been extinguished.  When Christ uttered “It is finished” from the cross, I am sure that those who knew Him and who witnessed the crucifixion felt that all mercy, goodness and hope had vanished from the world.

But Christ’s spirit was in the hands of God and with God all things are possible.  The end of Christ’s ministry on earth was the beginning of the ministry of the Disciples; the beginning of the Church; and the beginning of the worldwide spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God’s light is never extinguished.  His word endures forever.  

And God’s work is never finished.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Words of Christ on the Cross, Part 2

Mark 15:34

“34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)”

John 19:28

“28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar  was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.”

We often forget that the Son of God was not only divine but also human.  In this context, He had lived the life of humanity; He had done the work that we do, suffered in the way we suffer, he knew the agony of hunger and thirst, and he had faced the temptations and trials that we face.  He knew the love and the betrayal of friends, and the hatred of enemies.

And now he experienced a suffering no person had ever suffered; the suffering for the sins of humanity and the deep, dark separation from God that is caused by such an accumulation of sins.

The cross was the final temptation for Christ.  The people who witnessed the crucifixion were yelling at him to save himself, to come down from the cross if He were truly the Messiah and in this we hear echo of the voice of Satan in the wilderness.

But it was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross. 

It was love.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Words of Christ on the Cross, Part 1

Luke 23:33-34, 39-43

“33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

John 19:25-27

“25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

How is it that Jesus could express compassion for others while on the cross?  Each of the statements above in bold are statements that Jesus made after being beaten, whipped, scourged, spat upon, forced to carry his cross, nailed by the hands and ankles to the cross, then slowly suffocating to death because of the weight of His body pulling down on His arms.

Yet, his concern is for those who crucified Him, for the criminals who were crucified with Him, and for His mother.

How many of us are able to think beyond our own pain to the needs and suffering of others?

Christ did this on the cross.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Matthew 9:23)

This is the way.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Betrayed and Taken

John 19:13-18

“13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”

The Disciples deserted Him.  Peter denied Him.  Now the people cried out for His death.  It was not just any death that they cried out for. It was a death reserved for criminals; a gruesome death used by the Romans to torture and humiliate the victim and to deter those who witnessed it from committing similar crimes against the state of Rome. 

Deserted by all who had walked and lived with Him, He had carried His cross to the place of His execution.  Two criminals on crosses were on each side of Him.  They were His companions in suffering and death.

The horrific nature of His death was reflective of the horrific nature of the sins of humanity that He was taking upon himself during the crucifixion.  The horrific nature of His death contrasted with the acts of love he had performed for others in His ministry.

But His death on the cross was more than an act of love.  It defined for us the kind of love that we are to have for one another- a selfless, self-sacrificing love.

And all who follow Him are called to this love.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Sitting Watch

Matthew 26:36-46

“36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Was there ever a time when someone sat up with you as you agonized over a decision to make, or went through a time of suffering?  What would you have thought if this person slept most of the time they were with you?

The disciples that Jesus took with him to Gethsemane were the same disciples that he took with him to the Mount of Transfiguration.  He asked them to sit and keep watch a distance away while he prayed, and agonized, and wrestled.  He described himself as overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

And yet, the disciples slept.

During our times of struggle, we take it for granted that God is sitting watch with us. As we pray and cry out in our agony, God is with us.   As we suffer our greatest hurt, God is there.

As we dry our eyes and walk out the door, God is with us.

And He never slept.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Answer

Matthew 21:23-27

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

When we think of the things that Jesus did upon entering Jerusalem, particularly the cleansing of the temple, it was only natural that the authorities would ask Him on whose authority He was acting.

Jesus, as he often did, countered with a question of his own.  “On whose authority did John the Baptist act?”  Their answer was an answer they thought would not condemn them either in Jesus’ eyes or in the eyes of the people.  They said they did not know.  But an answer of ignorance from people who should have known was self-condemning.  They could not face the truth.

The religious authorities had a duty to know these things, to know a true prophet from a false prophet. To say they did not know was to say they were not who they claimed to be.  So Jesus, rightly, refused to answer their question.

As Christians, we are to walk the path of truth, wherever that path leads, however difficult the journey, no matter how uncomfortable.  

And at the end of that journey lies the answer.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

His Time Had Come

Luke 19:45-46

“45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’ but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.”

By cleansing the temple and teaching in temple each day, Jesus drew the attention of the religious authorities to himself.  I believe this was His intent.  He did not make the journey to Jerusalem to hide in a corner on some deserted street.  His time had come, so he acted in a way that was consistent with His coming.  Jesus knew the result of His actions, He knew how things would end, and he acted boldly and in public view.

Many times during His ministry, Jesus had asked people that he helped or healed that they not tell anyone.  Now, Jesus accepted their shouts of praise and their claims that He was the Messiah, the son of David.

His time had come.  

And the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the leaders of the people plotted to kill him.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)