Parkwood Baptist Church

“In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my Rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my Rock and my Fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”       (Psalm 31:1-5)

“…and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:45, 46)

Again, Jesus speaks words of Scripture from the cross.  It is  another key that gives us some insight into His suffering and how He finds strength within it.  When we look at the Psalm that is on His mind in His final moments we can see that this is a passage declaring trust and faith.  What may seem on the surface to be an attitude of simple surrender to His fate is act of submission to a His Father.  One surrenders when they are beaten.  It acknowledges weakness in the light of a greater strength.  But, submission is an act of strength that shows a trust in One with a greater plan and a willingness to follow that plan.

Jesus was not “giving up” because Satan had won and He was beaten…quite the opposite was true.  Jesus was not “giving in” because Satan was stronger…also not true.  Jesus was “giving over” His life to the Father in an act of trust that can only come from an intimate relationship with some one.

This phrase from the cross can give us a great lesson on how we can respond in times when our faith is inconvenient.  When we encounter suffering on our journey how can we find strength?  These words of Jesus speak volumes.  The key is submission.

First, submission starts with relationship.  Jesus says, “Father”.  You can’t submit without trust and you can’t have trust without relationship.  Jesus knew who was in control of His life and had an assurance that His Father would never let Him down.  Paul said this when he suffered,

“That is why I am suffering as I am.  Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Second, submission requires a willingness to let go and let God…”into Your hands”.  You must daily turn your life over to the God who loves you.  We must pray these words every day as a commitment to follow Christ each moment.

Today meditate on your relationship to God.  Read again the words of the Psalm above and follow the example of Jesus and use it as a prayer today…Father, into your hands…

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.” (Matthew 27:50, 51)

The moment when Jesus died had been prophesied and anticipated since sin entered this world and separated us from God.  The open fellowship with God that we were created to enjoy was interrupted and the consequence of our sin placed a veil between us.  From that time on we could no longer come directly into His presence.  In the tabernacle (and later in the temple) this barrier was physically represented by an enormous curtain (veil) that covered the entrance to the “Holy of Holies”.  For hundreds of years it guarded the inner part of the temple where they kept the Ark of the Covenant which represented the presence of God.  No one was allowed to go into the “presence” except for one exception…the High Priest…once a year.

When Jesus died on the cross He removed the barrier  (our sin) that separated us.  The Scripture says that the curtain was torn in two from top to bottom!  What did the priests think in the temple that day?  So many strange events.  Three hours of darkness followed by an earth quake that shook the very foundation beneath their feet and then a loud ripping noise.  As they turned toward the sound they must have been shocked to see, exposed for the first time, the Holy of Holies…God’s presence.  What has just happened that has caused such a series of cosmic events?  Salvation has come.  Reconciliation has been made possible.  The fellowship that we were created to enjoy with God in the garden can now be experienced again.  The writer of Hebrews describes it like this:

“Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great High Priest over the House of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:19-21)

It is also good to notice that the Scripture says that the curtain was torn from top to bottom.  It was an act of God not us.  God did through Jesus what we could not do.  God took the initiative and has invited us into His presence…into relationship again.  There is no longer a separation.  This is the Gospel!  This is the Good News!  Today read these words of the Apostle Paul:

“What then shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:31-39)

Because of His sacrifice…no more separation!  There is no more curtain.

Come into His presence today.

“From the sixth hour to the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” (Matthew 27:45, 46)

It has been a long journey for Jesus.  He laid aside His divine privileges and came from the throne room of heaven to a manger in Bethlehem.  He lived 3 decades as one of us growing up in a poor family in the small town of Nazareth.  He spent 3 years in a ministry of teaching, healing, and revealing to us what the Kingdom is all about.  His last 3 days will be spent giving up His life as a sacrifice for our sin and His last 3 hours will be spent in the dark.

Have you ever been forsaken?  Have you ever felt abandoned?  It is in this unnatural darkness in the middle of the day that Jesus will experience the worst of it…the feeling of being abandon by God.  The ultimate consequence of sin is the broken fellowship with our Creator.  It is the definition of death in the Scripture…separation from God.  Jesus cries out after three hours of darkness to the Father and suffers the ultimate feeling of despair and loneliness.  His friends had left Him and His enemies were mocking Him.  And now He experiences the depth of sins consequences…darkness.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was a cosmic event.  The entire universe was rattled as it’s creator breathed His last.  The ripple effects of that Friday had an impact on all of the world we see and the spiritual world that we do not see.  It seems appropriate that the last three hours of the Savior’s life are spent in darkness.  Why?

Maybe it was because no one could bear to look upon the Lord as the full weight of our sin was taken upon His already mangled body.  It could have been a physical sign of a greater spiritual reality.  Jesus had to go into the darkness for us so that we could come again into the light.  The Scripture always uses darkness to describe our sinful condition, “the people who dwell in darkness have seen a great light.”  Or maybe all of creation bows it’s head and mourns the loss of the Lamb of God.  Whatever the reasons Jesus cries out from the cross using the words from Psalm 22 which is the prophesy describing His feelings at that moment.  We don’t have to wonder what He was thinking.

Can you take a moment today to read Psalm 22?  Think about the fact that this was how Jesus felt as He drank the very last drops from this cup for you and I.  Then do one more thing…read the next Psalm.  It is no accident that Psalm 23 immediately follows.  The Psalm of such suffering is followed by the Psalm of ultimate comfort. 

“The Lord is my Shepherd”

“A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?'” (Matthew 21:8-10)

Today is our last Sabbath rest in our Lenten season and we, once again, turn our hearts to celebrating the many blessings we have received from the sacrifice of Jesus. This is known as Palm Sunday which refers to the crowds waving the palms branches as our Savior enters the city one week before His resurrection.  The people have heard that Jesus was coming and when the moment had arrived they went out to give Him a “hero’s” welcome!

Be sure to know that there were many other big welcomes that week to the city.  After all it was the annual Passover feast and anybody who was anybody would normally be in attendance.  It was probably similar to our red carpet at an awards event.  But there was something distinctive about this arrival that set it apart…that got the citizens talking and asking…”Who is this?”

First, the actions of those lining the streets as Jesus entered were treating Him as royalty.  The waving of the palms, the laying the cloaks in the road and the riding of the donkey while His entourage walked were all things done for a king.  This, of course, was a bitter-sweet moment for Jesus knowing what was coming but it was a warm welcome and up until now that was rare.  It may have reminded Him of His days in Heaven as angels praised Him wherever He went and He was recognized as Lord.

The second aspect of this welcome and most important was what they were saying.  The crowd was quoting a verse from Psalm 118:25 which spoke of the Messiah to come.  They were expressing their hope in Jesus as the Messiah!  The word “hosanna” literally means “save us”.  They were crying out for help…they were crying out in hope!  This guy could be the one who was prophesied to come and save us from our enemies.  They saw Jesus as The Savior who would free them from their bondage…and He was.

They were miserable.  They had waited so long for the Messiah.  They wanted to be set free.  So, they cried out in desperate jubilation…”Save us, Son of David, Bless you!  Come and fulfill the prophesy!”

We all need salvation.  We all need a Savior.  Jesus was everything that the crowd said that Sunday but not everything that they expected.  He was coming to set them free but, not from Rome…from sin.  What do you need this day from Jesus?  Do you need Him to save you from the struggle you are in?  Do you need Him to save you from your own selfishness?  He stands ready to give you whatever you need but it may not be what you expected.

Today let’s raise our hands and shout hosanna!  The cross was God responding to our need to be saved and providing the way to restoration!  Thank you, Jesus!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

“When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:23-25)

On April 8th 1983 a magician named David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of a live audience.  It was an amazing illusion that was broadcast on live TV for millions to see.  When it comes to magic, the greatest tricks involve something disappearing.  A coin or a card that is there one moment and gone the next.  But the bigger the item the better.  There is no doubt that what he did that night was spectacular but, there is something we all know when it comes to things vanishing into thin air…nothing disappears.

In fact, part of the thrill of the illusion is saying, “How did he do that?”  In other words, how did he make me think it disappeared?  I know it must be up his sleeve or in his pocket.  Maybe it was done with mirrors or a trick container.  It is sometimes baffling but, one thing we know for sure…nothing disappears.

Isn’t it odd that we do not use the same thinking when it comes to our theology of the cross and, specifically our sins.  When we read of the forgiveness of sins we talk about it as if God is a grand magician who used the cross as a magic wand to make our sins disappear.  He just made them go away.  But, wait a minute…we know better.  We know that things do not disappear.  What happened to those sins?  Where did they go?

My friends, our sins did not disappear when Jesus died on the cross.  The Scripture above tells us that Jesus took our sins upon Himself and bore the “wages of death” that they carried.  Jesus was not a magician, He was a Redeemer.  He paid the price for your freedom.

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)

We are forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus when He shed His blood on the cross.  Our sins did not vanish…they were transferred to Jesus and He became the sacrificial lamb…the Passover lamb…the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

So, today meditate on this thought and live in a renewed spirit of gratitude that Jesus took your sin upon Himself so that you might be free to live in righteousness.

Thank you Jesus!

“The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers also came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine and vinegar and said, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.’ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.'” (Luke 23:35-37, 39-43)

The common chorus from the crowd around the cross was a challenge for Jesus to save himself.  The people acknowledged that He had saved others from diseases and even raised the dead so they wanted to see if He could do it for Himself.  If He wanted to prove that He was the chosen One, this was the perfect opportunity.  The soldiers joined in by asking Him to provide proof that He was a King but they were only mocking Him because they knew that Jesus was not a King or the Chosen One.  If He was, He wouldn’t be there hanging on a cross alone, defeated and dying…or would He?

The Scriptures tell us that the reason Jesus came into this world was to save the world not to save Himself.  The angel said to Mary, “…He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).  Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3:17) that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but “to save the world through Him.”   Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  Everything that Jesus did was for the purpose of saving the world and demonstrating His love for us…even the cross!

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

What an odd way to save the world!

The thieves that were crucified on either side of Jesus were also witnesses to this event.  One of the thieves joined the chants of the crowd for Jesus to save Himself.  The other saw things differently.  One ridiculed this self proclaimed Messiah while the other recognized a loving sacrifice.  The repentant thief called Jesus by name.  Maybe he had seen the Savior and had witnessed His ministry before his run in with the law.  Whatever the reason, he rebukes the cynical thief and asks for mercy from the Lord.  He was aware of his condition and his need for a Savior and he could see that this man was Him.  There was Jesus hanging on the cross, shedding His blood and dying for our sins that we might be saved…and the only one to recognize it was a condemned thief.

What an odd way to save the world…but it was the only way.

“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross.  It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS…The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, ‘Do not write The King of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be the King of the Jews.’  Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’  When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining.  This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.  ‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another.  ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’  This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said, ‘They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.’  So this is what the soldiers did.” (John 19:23, 24)

Once Jesus had reached the hill where He was to be crucified, the soldiers took the crossbeam from Simon and put it on the ground.  Then they stripped Jesus of His clothes and wrapped a loin cloth around Him.  This was something Rome did as a consolation to the Jews because they considered it an insult to crucify a Jew naked.  Then they laid Jesus down on the beam and drove the iron spikes into His wrists just below His palms.  Crucifixion had become an art to the Romans.  They hammered the nails with precision in order to minimize the bleeding and prolong the suffering of the prisoner.  They then raised the beam and put it in it’s place on the vertical part of the cross.  Finally, another spike was driven into His feet and this part of the soldier’s work was done.  Now they would wait for the prisoner to die and make sure no one tried to interfere with the execution.

The soldiers now divided up the clothing between themselves which was one of the perks of working the execution detail.  When getting ready to tear the undergarment into pieces they realized that this piece was seamless (a rare thing) and that they should “cast lots” for it.  Isn’t it odd that these men were more concerned about tearing a piece of cloth than the cruel torture of the man who was hanging above them?  The Messiah…the Son of God…who at that very moment was giving His life…shedding His blood for the those very men at His feet.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

For us the cross is a gut wrenching scene that brings a flood of emotion and shame.  But, I wonder if we are sometimes more like these distracted soldiers than we think.  As Christians we are called to live at the foot of the cross remembering the sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption.  Many of us, like the soldiers, can be distracted by the “things” that are associated with Jesus and miss the most important thing…Jesus.  The chief priests were more concerned about the wording on the sign than about what was happening right before their eyes.  We stand before the cross and argue about the color of the carpet.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

John tells us in the Scripture above that the soldiers were fulfilling a prophesy from Psalm 22, written 800 years earlier, which graphically describes the crucifixion of the Messiah.  Their apathy or that of the priests was not a surprise…it’s just a sad reality…if we are not careful we can be easily distracted by the “cloth” of this world and miss the work that God is doing right in front of us.

Today… “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full into His wonderful face.”

“A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.” (Mark 15:21)

After the taunting by the Roman soldiers Jesus is now led on the “via delarosa”…the walk to the hill called Golgotha.  As was the routine, Jesus and the other two criminals were paraded through the streets from the governor’s palace to the hill of execution.  The streets are narrow and by mid-morning they are extra crowded as the city prepares for the annual celebration of the Passover.  Making the half mile trek to Calvary would be more difficult today.  Each prisoner has a six foot crossbeam strapped across their shoulders which weighed about a hundred pounds.  The soldiers would lead the way clearing a path through the crowd bringing attention to what happens to those who go against the Roman Empire.

For Jesus this was not going to be an easy task.  He had already been beaten within an inch of His life and had not slept in over twenty four hours.  The soldiers could tell that Jesus had suffered too much to be able to carry his cross so they needed to “recruit” a volunteer.  The streets were filled with pilgrims from all over the realm who had come for this Jewish holiday and the Romans had the authority to force anyone of them to assist them when needed.

On this day they pulled a man from the crowd from Cyrene and forced him to be a part of this gruesome event about to take place.  We aren’t told too much about him.  He was not from Jerusalem and was the father of two boys.  It may be that the boys were with him when he was commanded to carry the cross of Jesus.  If so, they probably followed behind their father as he followed behind the suffering Savior.  It is Luke’s version of the story (Luke 23:26) that tells us that Simon walked behind Jesus becoming a living illustration of what Jesus calls each of us to do;

“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23).

What was Simon thinking as he walked behind Jesus through the narrow walkways of Jerusalem?  “This is not what I expected today!”  “Where are my boys?”  “This is so inconvenient.”  “This guy in front of me isn’t going to make it.”

With his eyes fixed on Jesus and the soldiers yelling at him to keep up he slowly climbs the hill to Calvary.  Tradition says that Simon was transformed by this event and became a courageous believer that ended up giving his own life as a martyr.  Some say that his son Rufus also became a believer and is the Rufus mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:13.

Whatever happened to Simon we cannot be sure but, we can be sure that what Simon was forced to do we are called by Christ to do willingly.  We are asked to step out of the crowd and, no matter how inconvenient, follow Jesus to the cross.  We have been on this journey for more than 30 days.  You may be getting tired and the walk is becoming harder and the burden of meditating on (carrying) the cross is getting heavier and you are thinking, “This is harder than I expected.”

Today, keep your eyes on Jesus and follow Him up the hill.  He is going there for you.

“Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. ‘Hail, the king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.” (Matthew 27:27-31)

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

“I looked and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one ‘like a son of man’ with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.”  (Revelation 14:14)

Jesus is now put into the hands of the soldiers and they begin their cruel games.  Now He is surrounded by a company of armed Roman guards.  These men had no respect for the Jews or their ancient religious beliefs.  They didn’t care if Jesus was or wasn’t the Messiah.  They just knew He claimed to be a king so they would give Him the “royal” treatment.  They stripped Him which exposed the open wounds of His earlier flogging and then they gave Him a robe, a crown of thorns and a scepter.  The soldiers began their mockery by bowing to Jesus and they had no idea that what they were doing was prophetic of a day when “every knee” will bow and acknowledge that Jesus is King.

When the Apostle John got a glimpse into heaven, he saw Jesus sitting on the throne wearing the golden crown of the King of Kings.  Do you think any of these scenes were going through Jesus’ mind during this moment?  This must have made it even more difficult for Jesus as He endured the abuse of the soldiers ignorant of who He really was.  They didn’t have a clue that the man they bowed to in jest they would some day bow down to for real.

Today we come face to face with the some of the deepest suffering of our Savior.  I am not talking about the physical torture which was horrific, I am speaking of the heartbreak of watching those you love reject you.  They didn’t see it…they missed it…they had no idea what they were doing.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they’re doing”

Do you get it?

“When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said, ‘It is your responsibility!’ All the people answered, ‘Let His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.” (Matthew 27:24-26)

In these few verses we are given several views of the “blood” of Jesus which give us truths to ponder on this next leg of our lenten journey.  First, we have Pilate who has found Jesus innocent but succumbs to the will of the crowd.  Before he gives the Savior over to be crucified he does something that people have talked about ever since…he washes his hands.  He did it to show that the blood of Jesus was not on his hands and that he was not responsible for His death.  Pilate, however, was deceiving himself.  The blood of the Christ was on his hands and the hands of us all.

Truth #1 – We are all responsible for His death and no amount of hand washing can rid our hands of the stains of his blood.

The people were so intent on the execution of Jesus that they gladly accepted the responsibility of this act on themselves and their children.  “Let His blood be on us!”  Without knowing it they were voicing the act of salvation.  It is because the blood of Christ is on us we can be reconciled to God.  This was the very purpose of the cross…that we receive the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus.  So, what they claimed was true.

Truth #2 – His blood is upon us and, therefore, we stand before God cleansed of our sins.

Then we have a convicted murderer, Barabbas.  We never hear him say a word but we know his circumstances.  He was an insurrectionist who was convicted of murder and awaiting execution.  On this day he was one of three taken from their prison cell on “death row”.  Two would be crucified but one would be set free…Barabbas.  Through a weird chain of events an innocent man was to be crucified in his place, a substitution of sorts.  His cross and the punishment that he deserved would be shouldered by an anonymous stranger.  Barabbas probably didn’t understand it all as he stumbled into the sunlight, but he knew that he was once a man condemned who was now free.

Truth #3 – Scripture tells us that we all have sinned and stand condemned to die but Jesus has taken upon Himself our iniquities that we might have eternal life.  Because of His sacrifice we have been set free to experience life as we were intended.

Today, meditate on these words from the Apostle Paul,

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1, 2)