June 9, 2013
Scripture:
Let’s turn back to Revelation 5:2. The question here is who is worthy—the problem is ‘worthiness’—not power or capability. So, what makes one worthy? The One who was slain is worthy. It was the cross that made Him worthy; that which made us able to come as worshipers. Oh, how worthy He is!
Hymn 385 – Tell me the story of Jesus
Prayer
We’ve been reading the stories of Jesus: the parables that Jesus told. Today we will read another parable.
Matthew 18:21 - 30
Peter was wondering if he always needed to forgive his brother. This question brought on a parable. In this story, a king had a servant that owed him a lot of money: 10,000 talents. Depending on whether they were gold or silver talents, the value of that today would probably be between $10,000,000 and $4,000,000,000. Let’s be modest and say that the debt was $10,000,000. The king was going to put his servant and his family in prison until he would pay. The servant begged for the king to have mercy, saying that he would pay it all. Now let’s do a little math. Let’s say that this servant made $25 per hour and he worked 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. In one week, he would make $1,000. If he worked 50 weeks a year, he would have made $50,000 a year. This means that it would take 200 years to pay the debt. Even if he made $50 per hour, it would still take 100 years to pay off the debt. It wasn’t something he could possibly do.
We were all born with a debt that we could not pay, a debt we owed to God. Even if we wanted to pay it ourselves, we couldn’t: we cannot keep the ten commandments, which is what it would take. Jesus was trying to show them that forgiveness has nothing to do with the outside. The king was moved with compassion and forgave the servant everything.
We learn from this parable that we are forgiven by God, and not because of anything that we have or have done, but because of what the Lord Jesus has done at the cross. God had righteous grounds on which to forgive us. And since we have been forgiven, we should have compassion and forgive those who have offended us.
Luke 23:46-56
In our chapter, the only time period that Luke mentions is the period of darkness from the sixth to ninth hours. Mark, however, also notes that Jesus was crucified at the third hour; so Jesus was on the cross for three hours before the darkness started. During that time those around the cross were accusing, mocking, and abusing Him. We sometimes say that those first three hours are the manifestation of man’s heart. Jesus was suffering, but it was from the hand of man, not God.
In that day, the Jews reckoned the time starting with 6 A.M. as the first hour. At the sixth hour—12 noon—the sun should have been blazing brightly, but instead all was darkness.
The sufferings that the Lord endured during those first three hours were not sufferings for sin. We say that they were not atoning sufferings. The sufferings that atone for our sins took place during the second, dark, three hours. We can’t be told about those sufferings, but they are so precious. The first three hours on the cross displayed man’s hatred for the Lord; the second three hours displayed God’s grace and love for man.
Jesus went through three types of suffering. Isaiah 53:3 tells of His sufferings from man. This is the scourging, the despising, etc. Next, in Isaiah 53:4a, we see Jesus’ sufferings with man. We see these when He is weeping at the grave of Lazarus, or sympathizing with the people. Finally in Isaiah 53:4b-5 we have His sufferings for man. These are the sufferings that took place during the darkness. Jesus was wounded by God, for the sins of man.
A lot of the Psalms are Messianic in nature and at different points give expressions from the Lord during those hours of darkness. Let’s look at some of these. Psalm 40:12. During the darkness our iniquity was laid on the Lord, and it became His own. He was paying the huge debt of our sins. Psalm 42:7. Some people have related the deep calling to deep to Noah’s flood. The water was coming from above and from below—rain, and the fountains of the deep were broken up. At the cross, Jesus’ sufferings were coming from below—from man—and from above—from God. One of the classic Psalms for Christ’s sufferings is, of course, Psalm 22. In this Psalm God left the Lord, only to come back as Judge. Psalm 69:14-15. Psalm 88:6. These references show us how Jesus was feeling during those hours of darkness.
Jesus was crucified in verse 33, but He was still able to commune with God as Father. In the darkness, however, it wasn’t “Father” but rather “my God”. Only after the darkness left could He again call God “Father”.
The gentile Centurion saw these things and glorified God. That is the affect of the cross upon the conscience. The people there had seen crucifixions before, but they, too, could tell that the Lord’s death was different from others. The hearts of the women that followed Jesus were broken, and His other followers could hardly believe what had happened. V49.
The cross drew out the affection of these hearts, but it also drew out the courage of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Joseph had some faith, and he stood up and said, “I want that body”, and Nicodemus was there saying, “Yes, we’ll take care of it.” The disciples had fled, but these two men took care of burying the Lord’s body. Jesus was put up on the cross with hatred, but He was taken down with love. V53. Even though His body was dead, Jesus was placed in a tomb that hadn’t been contaminated by death. Joseph must have had some means, for Isaiah tells us that Christ was placed with the rich in His death.
Joseph of Arimathea was willing to identify with the Lord in His death, even though it would probably cost him something. We have the privilege of identifying with Christ in His death at the remembrance of the Lord.
Hymn 208 - We’ll sing of the shepherd that died
Prayer