1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,720 I have to tell you with every year that passes, 2 00:00:03,720 –> 00:00:06,240 I become more deeply convinced 3 00:00:06,240 –> 00:00:08,340 that the greatest privilege 4 00:00:08,340 –> 00:00:12,620 and the highest responsibility that I have as your pastor 5 00:00:12,620 –> 00:00:15,380 is to communicate from the Bible as clearly 6 00:00:15,380 –> 00:00:19,120 and as compellingly as I possibly can 7 00:00:19,940 –> 00:00:23,879 the love of God poured out for you and for me 8 00:00:23,879 –> 00:00:26,760 in our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. 9 00:00:27,660 –> 00:00:29,520 And if the preaching of God’s Word 10 00:00:29,860 –> 00:00:32,939 were to bring you over time to feel deeply 11 00:00:32,939 –> 00:00:34,939 that God loves you 12 00:00:34,939 –> 00:00:39,680 then much good would be accomplished in your life. 13 00:00:39,680 –> 00:00:42,080 And that is my prayer above everything else 14 00:00:42,080 –> 00:00:44,459 for the series that we begin today. 15 00:00:45,619 –> 00:00:46,599 I’ve called the series, 16 00:00:46,599 –> 00:00:50,299 The Full Extent of His Love. 17 00:00:50,299 –> 00:00:52,160 And that phrase, as you may recognize 18 00:00:52,160 –> 00:00:54,939 comes from John in chapter 13 19 00:00:54,939 –> 00:00:58,639 when the disciples gather with Jesus for the Last Supper. 20 00:00:58,639 –> 00:01:00,020 And John says, 21 00:01:00,020 –> 00:01:01,540 having loved His own, 22 00:01:01,540 –> 00:01:06,540 He now showed them the full extent of His love. 23 00:01:07,540 –> 00:01:10,739 And what follows is an account of Jesus washing 24 00:01:10,739 –> 00:01:13,540 the feet of the disciples. 25 00:01:13,540 –> 00:01:14,360 And that, of course, 26 00:01:14,360 –> 00:01:17,699 was a beautiful demonstration of the love of Christ, 27 00:01:17,699 –> 00:01:21,279 His humility, His taking the place of a servant. 28 00:01:21,279 –> 00:01:23,260 But John had much more in mind 29 00:01:23,260 –> 00:01:25,500 than the washing of the disciple’s feet 30 00:01:25,680 –> 00:01:29,660 when he spoke about the full extent of Christ’s love. 31 00:01:29,660 –> 00:01:30,500 Because as you know, 32 00:01:30,500 –> 00:01:32,940 the Last Supper led to Gethsemane 33 00:01:32,940 –> 00:01:35,699 and then to the arrest and trial of the Lord Jesus, 34 00:01:35,699 –> 00:01:38,860 and then to the cross itself. 35 00:01:38,860 –> 00:01:40,860 And in all of this, 36 00:01:40,860 –> 00:01:45,860 Christ shows us the full extent of His love. 37 00:01:47,779 –> 00:01:51,099 Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon on one occasion 38 00:01:51,099 –> 00:01:51,940 with this title. 39 00:01:51,940 –> 00:01:54,139 They had long titles in those days. 40 00:01:54,160 –> 00:01:57,559 And his title was There Never Was Any Love 41 00:01:57,559 –> 00:02:01,699 That Could Be Paralleled With the Dying Love 42 00:02:01,699 –> 00:02:03,239 Of Jesus Christ. 43 00:02:03,239 –> 00:02:06,519 That’s true, that’s Romans chapter five in verse eight 44 00:02:06,519 –> 00:02:10,160 and most of us here in this congregation know this well. 45 00:02:10,160 –> 00:02:14,240 God demonstrates His own love for us in this 46 00:02:14,240 –> 00:02:18,740 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 47 00:02:19,820 –> 00:02:21,380 But here’s the problem. 48 00:02:21,820 –> 00:02:26,779 Many people who believe that Jesus died and rose 49 00:02:26,779 –> 00:02:29,500 do not feel that God loves them. 50 00:02:30,919 –> 00:02:32,940 Maybe you can identify with that. 51 00:02:32,940 –> 00:02:34,100 You know about the cross. 52 00:02:34,100 –> 00:02:37,059 You know that Jesus suffered and that He died there. 53 00:02:37,059 –> 00:02:40,199 But it is not obvious to you how this is love 54 00:02:40,199 –> 00:02:41,880 and even if it is love in some way, 55 00:02:41,880 –> 00:02:44,880 it is not obvious how it is love for you. 56 00:02:45,559 –> 00:02:50,559 And I want you to see in the cross of Jesus Christ 57 00:02:52,720 –> 00:02:54,220 the love of God poured out. 58 00:02:54,220 –> 00:02:56,360 I want you to get to the place where you could 59 00:02:56,360 –> 00:02:59,960 look to Christ and look to His cross and say, 60 00:02:59,960 –> 00:03:02,940 nobody ever loved me like this. 61 00:03:04,320 –> 00:03:06,960 Nobody ever will love me like this. 62 00:03:08,220 –> 00:03:13,220 But Christ loves me like this and I see here 63 00:03:13,419 –> 00:03:17,259 the full extent of His love. 64 00:03:20,100 –> 00:03:23,619 Now, our Lord Jesus spoke seven times 65 00:03:23,619 –> 00:03:28,039 during the three hours in which He was hanging on the cross. 66 00:03:29,039 –> 00:03:31,360 And each time that our Lord Jesus spoke, 67 00:03:31,360 –> 00:03:36,360 He revealed more of the full extent of His love. 68 00:03:38,139 –> 00:03:40,779 And so, these seven cries from the cross 69 00:03:40,779 –> 00:03:42,679 are going to be our focus 70 00:03:43,059 –> 00:03:47,919 as we make this exploration of the extent of the love 71 00:03:47,919 –> 00:03:52,919 of the Lord Jesus Christ for you and for me. 72 00:03:53,000 –> 00:03:57,220 We begin today in Luke’s gospel, chapter 23 in verse 34. 73 00:03:57,220 –> 00:04:00,199 So I invite you to turn in your Bibles there. 74 00:04:00,199 –> 00:04:05,199 Luke chapter 23 and verse 34. 75 00:04:05,600 –> 00:04:08,179 Before I read these familiar words, 76 00:04:08,179 –> 00:04:10,660 let me set the scene for you. 77 00:04:11,580 –> 00:04:14,699 Christ has been arrested. 78 00:04:14,699 –> 00:04:17,540 He has been tried before the Sanhedrin 79 00:04:17,540 –> 00:04:21,820 and then before Herod and then before Pilate. 80 00:04:21,820 –> 00:04:26,720 He has been condemned by Jew and by Gentile. 81 00:04:28,019 –> 00:04:30,619 Always remember that the world was united 82 00:04:30,619 –> 00:04:33,140 in its condemnation of Jesus, 83 00:04:33,140 –> 00:04:37,100 he has been rejected by the educated elite, 84 00:04:37,100 –> 00:04:39,940 and he has been rejected by the crowd 85 00:04:39,940 –> 00:04:42,619 who called for him to be crucified. 86 00:04:42,619 –> 00:04:45,380 This was probably the one occasion in history 87 00:04:45,380 –> 00:04:48,859 when politicians, theologians, and ordinary people 88 00:04:48,859 –> 00:04:50,019 were all on the same page. 89 00:04:50,019 –> 00:04:51,820 You think about that. 90 00:04:51,820 –> 00:04:56,279 Politicians, theologians, and ordinary people 91 00:04:56,279 –> 00:04:59,299 were absolutely agreed about this common cause 92 00:04:59,299 –> 00:05:02,859 that they had in rejecting the Son of God. 93 00:05:04,220 –> 00:05:08,420 And so Jesus has been scourged, he has been mocked, 94 00:05:08,420 –> 00:05:11,279 he has been beaten over the head with a stick. 95 00:05:12,299 –> 00:05:16,140 A crown of thorns has then been forced down onto his head. 96 00:05:17,059 –> 00:05:21,540 And now the soldiers set about their grisly work 97 00:05:21,540 –> 00:05:25,640 of nailing his flesh to the cross. 98 00:05:27,679 –> 00:05:31,880 Now, we need to see ourselves here, folks. 99 00:05:33,480 –> 00:05:37,200 It’s not just about them there, it’s about us now. 100 00:05:37,220 –> 00:05:38,700 All of us are involved. 101 00:05:40,279 –> 00:05:43,839 The nailing is what happens 102 00:05:43,839 –> 00:05:46,700 when what we want clashes with God. 103 00:05:48,920 –> 00:05:51,519 If we are to be free to live as we choose, 104 00:05:51,519 –> 00:05:53,320 which is what we hear all the time in our culture. 105 00:05:53,320 –> 00:05:56,579 Isn’t it, we have to be free to live any way we choose. 106 00:05:56,579 –> 00:06:00,000 If we are to be free to live as we choose, 107 00:06:00,000 –> 00:06:05,000 we have to nail the sovereign Lord to the cross, 108 00:06:05,220 –> 00:06:10,220 and we have to replace him with a God, small g, 109 00:06:10,220 –> 00:06:12,119 that we can shape to our own liking. 110 00:06:14,779 –> 00:06:17,160 And the theologians and the politicians 111 00:06:17,160 –> 00:06:19,480 and the common people are all united in this. 112 00:06:19,480 –> 00:06:20,959 They all want the same thing. 113 00:06:22,839 –> 00:06:24,519 We want the power is with us. 114 00:06:24,519 –> 00:06:27,260 You see, we want to be the ones who make the choices. 115 00:06:27,260 –> 00:06:28,380 We want to be in charge. 116 00:06:28,380 –> 00:06:30,660 We cannot have a God who tells us what to do. 117 00:06:30,660 –> 00:06:32,540 So bring out the nails. 118 00:06:33,260 –> 00:06:36,019 The sovereign Lord must go on the cross. 119 00:06:39,279 –> 00:06:40,239 Ronald Wallace says, 120 00:06:40,239 –> 00:06:41,959 their work with hammer and nails 121 00:06:41,959 –> 00:06:44,459 speaks more eloquently about human sin 122 00:06:44,459 –> 00:06:47,880 than any other act in the whole crucifixion drama. 123 00:06:47,880 –> 00:06:49,720 As they nail Jesus, 124 00:06:49,720 –> 00:06:52,200 they are declaring in the name of all mankind 125 00:06:52,200 –> 00:06:54,040 that the only place this earth has 126 00:06:54,040 –> 00:06:56,220 for the Lord is on a cross. 127 00:06:57,579 –> 00:06:59,679 They are declaring in the name of all of us, 128 00:06:59,679 –> 00:07:04,440 we want an impotent, tied-up, puppet God, small g, 129 00:07:05,519 –> 00:07:10,579 we do not want the free, sovereign, living God. 130 00:07:13,239 –> 00:07:15,700 Now I say again that the theologians, the politicians, 131 00:07:15,700 –> 00:07:18,160 the common people are all agreed on this. 132 00:07:19,579 –> 00:07:21,260 For the politician, of course, pilot, 133 00:07:21,260 –> 00:07:23,220 it is a matter of expediency, 134 00:07:23,220 –> 00:07:25,859 you know, what do I gain if I side with Christ, 135 00:07:25,859 –> 00:07:28,119 what do I lose if I side with Christ? 136 00:07:28,119 –> 00:07:29,200 What are the crowds saying? 137 00:07:29,220 –> 00:07:30,859 Well, it’s pretty obvious what the crowd are saying 138 00:07:30,859 –> 00:07:32,320 so he makes his decision. 139 00:07:34,579 –> 00:07:36,779 The crowd, of course, as crowds always do, 140 00:07:36,779 –> 00:07:41,200 manage to get the whole thing reduced to a sound bite, 141 00:07:41,200 –> 00:07:45,140 amazing how crowds have the ability to articulate 142 00:07:45,140 –> 00:07:49,040 in a single sentence what’s at the core issue 143 00:07:49,040 –> 00:07:51,739 and they get it down to one sentence. 144 00:07:51,739 –> 00:07:55,079 We will not have this man to rule over us, 145 00:07:55,079 –> 00:07:55,940 is what they say. 146 00:07:56,880 –> 00:08:00,119 And remember that it was the theologians 147 00:08:00,119 –> 00:08:02,260 who got it all started, the Sanhedrin. 148 00:08:04,339 –> 00:08:06,339 I was preparing this message on Friday 149 00:08:07,380 –> 00:08:09,640 and as I was working on it the phone rang 150 00:08:10,920 –> 00:08:14,339 and it was a call from a friend of mine 151 00:08:14,339 –> 00:08:16,660 who’s a pastor in England 152 00:08:16,660 –> 00:08:19,760 and he told me about a mission that they had had 153 00:08:19,760 –> 00:08:22,359 in their church and how a number of students 154 00:08:22,359 –> 00:08:24,720 had been converted to faith in Jesus Christ, 155 00:08:24,720 –> 00:08:25,739 he said, It was wonderful, 156 00:08:25,760 –> 00:08:28,100 we’ve seen some remarkable conversions. 157 00:08:29,420 –> 00:08:31,779 And then he said to me, Colin, here’s the thing. 158 00:08:33,280 –> 00:08:35,940 The person who led the mission 159 00:08:37,039 –> 00:08:39,799 has since been involved in a model failure 160 00:08:41,700 –> 00:08:44,179 and since that happened, 161 00:08:44,179 –> 00:08:47,679 he has completely changed his theology. 162 00:08:49,659 –> 00:08:53,919 My friend said, Colin, he said, It is so sad 163 00:08:55,739 –> 00:08:58,719 and he said, It is so predictable. 164 00:09:00,119 –> 00:09:01,400 He’s absolutely right. 165 00:09:02,780 –> 00:09:06,659 You see, if you choose sin and you will not repent off it, 166 00:09:06,659 –> 00:09:09,619 you have to crucify the sovereign Lord 167 00:09:09,619 –> 00:09:11,000 and you have to replace him 168 00:09:12,020 –> 00:09:15,020 with an imaginary Jesus who affirms 169 00:09:15,020 –> 00:09:17,219 whatever it is that you want to go undoing. 170 00:09:19,219 –> 00:09:22,419 So I say to you again, when we read about the hammer 171 00:09:22,419 –> 00:09:24,440 and we read about the nails, 172 00:09:24,440 –> 00:09:25,559 we are there! 173 00:09:26,760 –> 00:09:30,059 That’s not just there then, it’s here now. 174 00:09:32,599 –> 00:09:36,119 The soldiers take their hammers and the long metal spikes 175 00:09:36,119 –> 00:09:39,979 and they nail the Son of God to this beam of wood 176 00:09:39,979 –> 00:09:43,159 and they lift him up on this pole. 177 00:09:43,159 –> 00:09:44,500 Can you picture it? 178 00:09:45,599 –> 00:09:48,880 And they drop the pole into a hole in the ground 179 00:09:48,880 –> 00:09:50,840 that has been prepared 180 00:09:50,840 –> 00:09:55,760 and then Jesus speaks 181 00:09:57,299 –> 00:09:59,460 for the first time from the cross, 182 00:10:01,739 –> 00:10:04,900 and he says, Luke 23, 34, 183 00:10:06,799 –> 00:10:10,820 Father, forgive them 184 00:10:12,059 –> 00:10:16,559 for they do not know what they are doing. 185 00:10:17,539 –> 00:10:21,380 They do not know 186 00:10:23,039 –> 00:10:24,219 what they are doing. 187 00:10:27,299 –> 00:10:29,099 I want you to think about this with me. 188 00:10:29,099 –> 00:10:32,099 The men who nailed Jesus to the cross 189 00:10:32,099 –> 00:10:35,700 did not think that they were doing anything wrong. 190 00:10:38,840 –> 00:10:42,020 They did not have a bad conscience. 191 00:10:42,020 –> 00:10:45,859 They didn’t feel they needed to ask forgiveness. 192 00:10:45,880 –> 00:10:48,820 They were committing the most terrible sin 193 00:10:48,820 –> 00:10:50,859 in the history of mankind 194 00:10:50,859 –> 00:10:55,659 and they did not know what they were doing. 195 00:10:57,859 –> 00:11:00,739 Now that tells us something of huge importance 196 00:11:00,739 –> 00:11:05,739 and it’s this, you cannot know what sin is 197 00:11:06,200 –> 00:11:08,659 from your own feelings about what is right 198 00:11:08,659 –> 00:11:09,760 and what is wrong. 199 00:11:11,219 –> 00:11:13,940 If you trust your own intuition, 200 00:11:14,080 –> 00:11:15,739 if you’re the kind of person who goes through life 201 00:11:15,739 –> 00:11:18,400 saying well, how do I decide what’s right and wrong 202 00:11:18,400 –> 00:11:20,599 I go by what I feel, 203 00:11:20,599 –> 00:11:22,179 that’s how I decide what’s right for me 204 00:11:22,179 –> 00:11:24,039 and what’s wrong for me and so forth and so on, 205 00:11:24,039 –> 00:11:27,419 listen, if you trust your own intuition 206 00:11:27,419 –> 00:11:30,460 to guide you in what is right and what is wrong 207 00:11:30,460 –> 00:11:31,640 here’s what will happen, 208 00:11:31,640 –> 00:11:33,979 you will sin and you will go on sinning 209 00:11:33,979 –> 00:11:35,599 without even knowing it. 210 00:11:36,979 –> 00:11:38,780 They do not know what they’re doing. 211 00:11:40,260 –> 00:11:42,859 We need God to tell us what sin is 212 00:11:42,900 –> 00:11:45,020 because we do not know by instinct. 213 00:11:45,020 –> 00:11:46,460 That is why we need God’s Word. 214 00:11:46,460 –> 00:11:49,299 That’s why it’s central in all of our worship. 215 00:11:49,299 –> 00:11:51,500 And we must not come as those to see ourselves 216 00:11:51,500 –> 00:11:53,700 over God’s Word, as if we were there to see 217 00:11:53,700 –> 00:11:56,000 where God’s Word is right and where God’s Word is wrong. 218 00:11:56,000 –> 00:11:57,539 We need to be under God’s Word 219 00:11:57,539 –> 00:11:59,419 so that it tells us where we are right 220 00:11:59,419 –> 00:12:00,539 and where we are wrong. 221 00:12:01,940 –> 00:12:04,140 Otherwise we do not know what we are doing. 222 00:12:05,099 –> 00:12:08,460 Paul says, I would not have known what sin is 223 00:12:10,200 –> 00:12:11,559 except through the law. 224 00:12:11,599 –> 00:12:13,799 That’s Romans chapter seven and verse seven. 225 00:12:14,659 –> 00:12:16,479 I wouldn’t know what right and wrong is 226 00:12:16,479 –> 00:12:20,760 apart from submitting myself to the Word of God. 227 00:12:20,760 –> 00:12:22,500 That’s the only way that you know. 228 00:12:24,559 –> 00:12:25,760 Now what were they doing? 229 00:12:25,760 –> 00:12:27,080 They didn’t know what they were doing, 230 00:12:27,080 –> 00:12:29,919 but what were they doing that they didn’t know? 231 00:12:31,580 –> 00:12:33,799 Let me answer that in three ways. 232 00:12:34,840 –> 00:12:35,799 What were they doing? 233 00:12:35,799 –> 00:12:40,799 They were shutting themselves out of a glorious heaven. 234 00:12:42,000 –> 00:12:43,440 That’s what they were doing. 235 00:12:45,039 –> 00:12:48,719 Spurgeon paints a compelling picture here. 236 00:12:48,719 –> 00:12:51,159 He uses his imagination as he did so well, 237 00:12:51,159 –> 00:12:55,119 and he says, I see a pearly gate. 238 00:12:56,659 –> 00:12:59,479 And there’s a man coming up to this pearly gate, 239 00:12:59,479 –> 00:13:01,840 and beyond the pearly gate, there’s a whole world 240 00:13:01,840 –> 00:13:06,080 of light and joy and music and dancing. 241 00:13:08,559 –> 00:13:10,479 And this man comes up to the pearly gate, 242 00:13:10,559 –> 00:13:11,780 and he has a hammer, and he has some nails, 243 00:13:11,780 –> 00:13:14,820 and he has some wood, and he’s hammering planks of wood 244 00:13:14,820 –> 00:13:19,820 across the gates to bar his own entrance. 245 00:13:20,320 –> 00:13:23,020 Now, Spurgeon says, what would you think of such a man? 246 00:13:24,880 –> 00:13:26,659 Shutting himself out. 247 00:13:28,919 –> 00:13:30,460 That’s what sin does. 248 00:13:32,460 –> 00:13:35,419 Sin shuts people out from heaven. 249 00:13:36,299 –> 00:13:39,619 And if you could see the joy that sin spurns, 250 00:13:39,619 –> 00:13:40,719 you would not sin. 251 00:13:42,820 –> 00:13:45,119 Jesus says they do not know what they are doing. 252 00:13:47,119 –> 00:13:49,159 Here are men with a few short years on Earth 253 00:13:49,159 –> 00:13:50,919 and then they will enter eternity, 254 00:13:50,919 –> 00:13:52,900 and they are face to face in this moment 255 00:13:52,900 –> 00:13:55,659 with the Son of God who owns heaven. 256 00:13:57,320 –> 00:13:59,820 And just few feet away there is a man 257 00:13:59,820 –> 00:14:02,219 who has been a thief all his life, 258 00:14:03,059 –> 00:14:03,900 and he has been caught, 259 00:14:04,859 –> 00:14:07,239 and now he is a few moments from eternity. 260 00:14:07,239 –> 00:14:08,859 And because he’s next to Jesus, 261 00:14:08,859 –> 00:14:11,140 he sees it as his moment of opportunity 262 00:14:11,140 –> 00:14:12,580 as we’ll see next week. 263 00:14:14,380 –> 00:14:17,280 He says, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 264 00:14:17,280 –> 00:14:18,940 But these soldiers, what are they doing? 265 00:14:18,940 –> 00:14:21,840 They are nailing the one who owns heaven to the cross. 266 00:14:23,619 –> 00:14:25,780 They are spurning grace. 267 00:14:27,440 –> 00:14:30,039 And Jesus says they do not know what they are doing. 268 00:14:30,979 –> 00:14:34,020 In every congregation there are some folks 269 00:14:34,020 –> 00:14:35,619 and that’s exactly where you are 270 00:14:35,619 –> 00:14:37,299 so I speak to you in this moment. 271 00:14:37,299 –> 00:14:38,919 You’re perhaps a younger person, 272 00:14:40,200 –> 00:14:41,739 perhaps an older person who’d been here 273 00:14:41,739 –> 00:14:43,760 for many, many years. 274 00:14:43,760 –> 00:14:46,099 And you have become familiar with the gospel. 275 00:14:47,380 –> 00:14:49,859 But there is a deep resistance in you 276 00:14:49,859 –> 00:14:52,299 to the claims of Jesus Christ on your life 277 00:14:52,299 –> 00:14:54,440 and so although he owns heaven, 278 00:14:54,440 –> 00:14:57,020 you are barring yourself out. 279 00:14:57,020 –> 00:14:59,320 You do not know what you are doing 280 00:14:59,320 –> 00:15:01,400 and if you could see the glory of heaven, 281 00:15:02,859 –> 00:15:05,099 you would embrace Jesus Christ right now 282 00:15:05,099 –> 00:15:06,460 in repentance and in faith. 283 00:15:08,799 –> 00:15:11,059 But there’s more, not only were they shutting themselves 284 00:15:11,059 –> 00:15:12,400 out of a glorious heaven, 285 00:15:12,400 –> 00:15:16,940 they were preparing for themselves an eternal hell. 286 00:15:18,200 –> 00:15:21,460 See, sin brings sorrow in this life 287 00:15:21,460 –> 00:15:23,859 and it brings judgment in the life to come. 288 00:15:24,799 –> 00:15:29,700 And if you knew the sorrow and judgment 289 00:15:29,700 –> 00:15:32,140 that a sin would bring, you would not do it. 290 00:15:34,940 –> 00:15:39,099 Again, Spurgeon says that hell is drinking a cup of gall 291 00:15:39,099 –> 00:15:43,159 every drop of which is distilled from your own sin. 292 00:15:44,599 –> 00:15:48,219 Drinking a cup of gall, a bitter cup, 293 00:15:48,219 –> 00:15:53,159 every drop of which is distilled from your own sin. 294 00:15:53,640 –> 00:15:57,940 See, God judges with perfect justice. 295 00:15:59,539 –> 00:16:01,619 And God’s perfect justice means 296 00:16:01,619 –> 00:16:03,280 that nobody will ever be judged 297 00:16:03,280 –> 00:16:04,619 for a sin they did not commit. 298 00:16:04,619 –> 00:16:06,380 You can be absolutely sure of that. 299 00:16:07,539 –> 00:16:10,380 Nobody will ever be judged for a sin they did not commit. 300 00:16:11,500 –> 00:16:13,219 It means that the judgment for each sin 301 00:16:13,219 –> 00:16:17,179 will be proportionate to its weight in the eyes of God. 302 00:16:17,179 –> 00:16:18,059 That’s in the eyes of God, 303 00:16:18,059 –> 00:16:20,099 not in your eyes, but in the eyes of God. 304 00:16:20,640 –> 00:16:23,580 And it means that every sin will be so punished. 305 00:16:23,580 –> 00:16:25,559 Nobody will be punished for a sin they did not commit, 306 00:16:25,559 –> 00:16:27,299 every sin will be punished in proportion 307 00:16:27,299 –> 00:16:29,140 to the weight that it has in the eyes of God. 308 00:16:29,140 –> 00:16:32,140 And every sin will be so punished. 309 00:16:32,140 –> 00:16:33,799 What that means is this, 310 00:16:35,520 –> 00:16:38,020 that a person in hell would give anything 311 00:16:38,020 –> 00:16:40,539 to have committed one less sin. 312 00:16:42,419 –> 00:16:43,960 And I ask you to think about this, 313 00:16:43,960 –> 00:16:45,919 what is the hell 314 00:16:46,719 –> 00:16:51,719 that is prepared by the sin of nailing the flesh 315 00:16:52,960 –> 00:16:55,359 of the son of God to a beam of wood. 316 00:16:55,359 –> 00:16:57,659 What kind of hell is prepared by that? 317 00:17:00,059 –> 00:17:05,060 No wonder Jesus said they do not know what they are doing. 318 00:17:11,000 –> 00:17:13,640 Shutting themselves out of the glorious heaven, 319 00:17:13,640 –> 00:17:16,319 preparing for themselves an eternal hell, 320 00:17:18,000 –> 00:17:19,660 and then the most obvious thing of all, 321 00:17:19,660 –> 00:17:20,500 what were they doing? 322 00:17:20,500 –> 00:17:22,479 They were crucifying the son of God. 323 00:17:22,479 –> 00:17:23,920 They didn’t know that either. 324 00:17:25,560 –> 00:17:28,079 There are these soldiers nailing Jesus to the cross, 325 00:17:28,079 –> 00:17:30,319 they do not know who he is. 326 00:17:31,520 –> 00:17:33,599 Paul says, in First Corinthians, in chapter two, 327 00:17:33,599 –> 00:17:35,000 if the rulers of this world 328 00:17:35,000 –> 00:17:36,760 had known that he was the Lord of glory, 329 00:17:36,760 –> 00:17:38,560 they would never have crucified him. 330 00:17:40,520 –> 00:17:42,880 But here’s what they’re doing in their sin, 331 00:17:42,880 –> 00:17:46,680 they are crucifying the son of God. 332 00:17:48,719 –> 00:17:51,060 Again, one more time, Spurgeon, who was so helpful here, 333 00:17:51,060 –> 00:17:53,800 says, every time a man sins, 334 00:17:54,819 –> 00:17:58,099 he aims a blow at the crown of God. 335 00:17:59,900 –> 00:18:01,300 That’s very clear, isn’t it? 336 00:18:02,699 –> 00:18:04,260 Or you may not ever say, 337 00:18:04,260 –> 00:18:06,280 you may never stand up in your life and say, 338 00:18:06,280 –> 00:18:09,380 I defy God, you may never do that, 339 00:18:10,140 –> 00:18:12,939 but every time you lie or swear 340 00:18:12,939 –> 00:18:14,680 or break God’s law in any way, 341 00:18:14,680 –> 00:18:15,920 this is what you do. 342 00:18:15,920 –> 00:18:20,920 You aim a blow at the crown of God, 343 00:18:23,619 –> 00:18:24,560 this is what you do. 344 00:18:26,420 –> 00:18:28,859 You see, sin is much more serious 345 00:18:28,859 –> 00:18:31,060 than breaking a moral code, 346 00:18:32,260 –> 00:18:33,400 and this is why. 347 00:18:34,300 –> 00:18:36,920 It is an offense, it is an affront, 348 00:18:36,920 –> 00:18:41,920 it is an insult to almighty God, your creator, 349 00:18:42,040 –> 00:18:45,619 and that is what makes sin so serious. 350 00:18:47,800 –> 00:18:50,880 So before we move on to the words 351 00:18:50,880 –> 00:18:54,619 that Jesus speaks to those in this dreadful condition, 352 00:18:54,619 –> 00:18:57,000 I want just to pause and make this application. 353 00:18:58,300 –> 00:19:02,660 When you sin, you do not know what you are doing. 354 00:19:03,500 –> 00:19:06,000 Now I know when I say that, 355 00:19:06,000 –> 00:19:07,540 that sometimes we sin knowingly 356 00:19:07,540 –> 00:19:09,380 and sometimes we sin willfully 357 00:19:09,380 –> 00:19:13,079 and there’s such a thing as sinning against the light. 358 00:19:13,079 –> 00:19:15,540 But what I’m saying is simply this. 359 00:19:15,540 –> 00:19:19,459 That whether a sin is intentional or unintentional, 360 00:19:19,459 –> 00:19:21,619 whether it was committed on the spur of the moment 361 00:19:21,619 –> 00:19:24,819 or whether it was planned and premeditated, 362 00:19:24,819 –> 00:19:27,520 if you really knew what that sin would cost 363 00:19:27,520 –> 00:19:29,459 and what that sin would bring, 364 00:19:29,459 –> 00:19:30,920 you would never have done it. 365 00:19:31,859 –> 00:19:34,500 And if you think about a particular sin in your life, 366 00:19:34,500 –> 00:19:36,380 you could not have known what you were doing 367 00:19:36,380 –> 00:19:38,939 because if you saw heaven and if you saw hell 368 00:19:38,939 –> 00:19:41,540 and if you saw Christ, you would never have done it. 369 00:19:42,579 –> 00:19:44,339 You didn’t know what you were doing. 370 00:19:45,420 –> 00:19:47,680 Every sin is an act of folly 371 00:19:47,680 –> 00:19:50,420 and if you knew the extent of that folly, 372 00:19:50,420 –> 00:19:51,780 you would not commit the sin, 373 00:19:51,780 –> 00:19:54,060 that is what we are learning here. 374 00:19:54,060 –> 00:19:56,900 And it does have a very practical implication. 375 00:19:57,839 –> 00:20:00,719 I want you to think now of some sin 376 00:20:01,060 –> 00:20:04,060 to which you have been tempted in the past 377 00:20:04,060 –> 00:20:05,800 and therefore to which you may be tempted 378 00:20:05,800 –> 00:20:06,900 again in the future. 379 00:20:08,479 –> 00:20:10,280 You think of some sins which you’ve been tempted 380 00:20:10,280 –> 00:20:13,479 in the past and to which you may this week 381 00:20:13,479 –> 00:20:15,540 again be tempted or later this month 382 00:20:15,540 –> 00:20:17,780 you may again be tempted, you think about it. 383 00:20:19,800 –> 00:20:21,040 Now follow me here, 384 00:20:22,400 –> 00:20:25,900 if in that moment where you are tempted, 385 00:20:27,439 –> 00:20:30,439 you could see the full horror of the hell 386 00:20:30,439 –> 00:20:32,180 that that sin brings 387 00:20:33,459 –> 00:20:37,000 and the full glory of the heaven that that sin shuns 388 00:20:38,339 –> 00:20:41,599 and if you could see how that sin spits 389 00:20:41,599 –> 00:20:44,520 in the face of God, 390 00:20:44,520 –> 00:20:46,880 I tell you, you will not fall into that sin. 391 00:20:48,599 –> 00:20:51,599 So use this as a defense against sin. 392 00:20:51,599 –> 00:20:55,219 Say to yourself in a moment of temptation, 393 00:20:56,060 –> 00:21:00,979 this is a sin that shuts people out of heaven. 394 00:21:02,699 –> 00:21:06,959 This is a sin that leads people into hell. 395 00:21:08,640 –> 00:21:12,819 This is a sin that crucifies Christ. 396 00:21:14,439 –> 00:21:16,640 I’m saying to you when you’re tempted, 397 00:21:16,640 –> 00:21:19,319 waken up to what you are doing. 398 00:21:20,560 –> 00:21:21,400 Waken up. 399 00:21:21,599 –> 00:21:22,439 Waken up. 400 00:21:24,119 –> 00:21:28,739 Now we must come to the glorious words 401 00:21:28,739 –> 00:21:31,939 that Jesus speaks to us in our desperate need. 402 00:21:33,500 –> 00:21:39,020 Father, forgive them, 403 00:21:40,119 –> 00:21:41,920 for they do not know what they are doing. 404 00:21:43,040 –> 00:21:46,380 Oh, aren’t you so grateful that Jesus on the Cross 405 00:21:46,380 –> 00:21:49,560 did not simply look with disdain 406 00:21:49,599 –> 00:21:53,819 and say, Father, they do not know what they are doing. 407 00:21:53,819 –> 00:21:57,219 That would leave us in utter condemnation, wouldn’t it? 408 00:21:57,219 –> 00:21:59,000 They do not know what they’re doing. 409 00:22:00,680 –> 00:22:02,420 And I want you then to see the full glory 410 00:22:02,420 –> 00:22:03,479 of what He says here. 411 00:22:03,479 –> 00:22:05,140 The extent of His love. 412 00:22:06,699 –> 00:22:10,959 He says, Father, forgive them, 413 00:22:12,920 –> 00:22:17,040 for they do not know what they are doing. 414 00:22:17,099 –> 00:22:20,839 We’ve looked at what they were doing, 415 00:22:20,839 –> 00:22:22,239 though they didn’t know it. 416 00:22:24,040 –> 00:22:26,079 What was it that Christ was doing? 417 00:22:26,079 –> 00:22:28,119 Let me suggest these answers to you. 418 00:22:30,280 –> 00:22:32,920 First, Christ was loving them 419 00:22:32,920 –> 00:22:35,479 while they were sinning against Him. 420 00:22:35,479 –> 00:22:36,439 This is amazing. 421 00:22:38,079 –> 00:22:42,280 Christ loves them even while they are sinning against Him. 422 00:22:42,280 –> 00:22:44,020 Now, we read earlier this morning, 423 00:22:44,339 –> 00:22:45,660 the teaching of Jesus. 424 00:22:45,660 –> 00:22:47,780 He says love your enemies 425 00:22:47,780 –> 00:22:50,439 and pray for those who persecute you. 426 00:22:50,439 –> 00:22:55,300 And this is exactly what the Lord Jesus does right here. 427 00:22:55,300 –> 00:22:56,900 He prays for his enemies. 428 00:22:56,900 –> 00:22:59,819 And He does this while they are inflicting 429 00:22:59,819 –> 00:23:02,199 this most excruciating pain on Him. 430 00:23:03,420 –> 00:23:04,500 Think about this. 431 00:23:04,500 –> 00:23:08,140 The people who have been most antagonistic towards Him, 432 00:23:08,140 –> 00:23:10,319 the people who have brought the greatest insult, 433 00:23:10,319 –> 00:23:11,939 the greatest sin against Him, 434 00:23:11,939 –> 00:23:14,500 they are the very ones who are on His heart. 435 00:23:15,540 –> 00:23:16,939 And He prays for them. 436 00:23:16,939 –> 00:23:18,859 And He prays for them while they are 437 00:23:18,859 –> 00:23:20,739 in the act of crucifying Him. 438 00:23:22,599 –> 00:23:23,619 You see the compassion, 439 00:23:23,619 –> 00:23:25,199 the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, 440 00:23:25,199 –> 00:23:28,979 let me suggest to you that Christ has compassion on them 441 00:23:28,979 –> 00:23:31,160 because He does know what they are doing. 442 00:23:33,180 –> 00:23:35,660 He knows the full weight of the sin that they are committing. 443 00:23:35,660 –> 00:23:37,400 He knows heaven, He knows hell. 444 00:23:37,400 –> 00:23:38,540 He is God. 445 00:23:38,540 –> 00:23:39,380 He is God. 446 00:23:40,420 –> 00:23:41,959 So He has great compassion. 447 00:23:43,979 –> 00:23:47,520 By the way, sidebar is that not why Christians 448 00:23:47,520 –> 00:23:50,260 should be the most compassionate people 449 00:23:50,260 –> 00:23:51,260 in all of the world? 450 00:23:53,219 –> 00:23:55,219 Friends, if we really know what heaven is 451 00:23:56,520 –> 00:23:58,500 and we know something of what hell is 452 00:23:59,579 –> 00:24:02,260 and we have come to know truly who God is, 453 00:24:03,719 –> 00:24:06,680 then far from being angry people about morality, 454 00:24:06,760 –> 00:24:09,780 we should be the most compassionate people 455 00:24:09,780 –> 00:24:14,060 in all the earth if we know these things. 456 00:24:16,400 –> 00:24:20,780 If you see what hell brings and the heaven that’s burned, 457 00:24:22,180 –> 00:24:24,060 you will have compassion 458 00:24:25,939 –> 00:24:30,939 for the most violent antagonist towards your faith, 459 00:24:33,839 –> 00:24:34,680 compassion. 460 00:24:35,680 –> 00:24:37,819 They do not know what they are doing. 461 00:24:40,479 –> 00:24:42,400 Not only does Christ love them 462 00:24:42,400 –> 00:24:45,479 while they are still sinning against him, 463 00:24:45,479 –> 00:24:49,640 he prays for them when they have no interest 464 00:24:49,640 –> 00:24:51,239 in praying for themselves. 465 00:24:51,239 –> 00:24:52,479 Now think about this. 466 00:24:54,239 –> 00:24:56,599 I wonder if anyone had ever prayed 467 00:24:56,599 –> 00:24:58,579 a single prayer for these men. 468 00:24:59,920 –> 00:25:00,760 I doubt it. 469 00:25:02,839 –> 00:25:04,400 Probably not a single person 470 00:25:04,439 –> 00:25:06,280 had ever raised a single prayer 471 00:25:06,280 –> 00:25:09,520 for one of these men who were standing around the cross. 472 00:25:11,719 –> 00:25:13,339 But Christ prays for them. 473 00:25:14,400 –> 00:25:15,339 Isn’t that amazing? 474 00:25:17,400 –> 00:25:18,599 And he prays 475 00:25:18,599 –> 00:25:20,920 for those who may be too ashamed 476 00:25:20,920 –> 00:25:22,319 to even pray for themselves. 477 00:25:22,319 –> 00:25:24,180 Those who have not yet even thought 478 00:25:25,219 –> 00:25:26,780 about praying for themselves. 479 00:25:29,000 –> 00:25:31,319 And they needed this prayer 480 00:25:31,319 –> 00:25:32,920 because ignorance of the law 481 00:25:32,920 –> 00:25:34,739 is no defense against breaking it 482 00:25:34,739 –> 00:25:36,560 as any policeman may tell you 483 00:25:36,560 –> 00:25:38,520 if you are pulled over 484 00:25:38,520 –> 00:25:41,119 for breaking the speed limit, right? 485 00:25:41,119 –> 00:25:41,959 Ignorance of … 486 00:25:41,959 –> 00:25:44,420 You say, oh I didn’t see the sign officer. 487 00:25:44,420 –> 00:25:45,260 And he’ll say to you, 488 00:25:45,260 –> 00:25:46,359 well ignorance of the law 489 00:25:46,359 –> 00:25:49,439 does not act as a defense against breaking it. 490 00:25:49,439 –> 00:25:52,079 So you see Jesus does not say 491 00:25:52,079 –> 00:25:53,780 father, forget about it 492 00:25:53,780 –> 00:25:55,760 because they don’t know what they’re doing. 493 00:25:55,760 –> 00:25:56,599 No. 494 00:25:56,599 –> 00:25:57,439 The fact that they don’t know 495 00:25:57,439 –> 00:25:58,260 what they’re doing 496 00:25:58,260 –> 00:25:59,719 doesn’t diminish the guilt of their sin. 497 00:26:00,560 –> 00:26:03,560 They need to be forgiven. 498 00:26:03,560 –> 00:26:05,439 That’s why he says, 499 00:26:05,439 –> 00:26:06,420 father forgive them. 500 00:26:06,420 –> 00:26:08,439 You’ve got to see the weight of that. 501 00:26:10,079 –> 00:26:12,439 Even know they do not know what they are doing. 502 00:26:13,500 –> 00:26:15,959 And Christ prays for their forgiveness 503 00:26:15,959 –> 00:26:19,199 before they have any interest 504 00:26:19,199 –> 00:26:20,839 in praying for themselves, 505 00:26:20,839 –> 00:26:22,359 any interest in being forgiven. 506 00:26:22,359 –> 00:26:23,319 Think about it, 507 00:26:23,319 –> 00:26:26,140 these men feel no need of forgiveness. 508 00:26:26,140 –> 00:26:28,099 They have not asked for forgiveness. 509 00:26:28,099 –> 00:26:29,439 They are not repentant. 510 00:26:29,520 –> 00:26:30,800 They have no faith. 511 00:26:30,800 –> 00:26:32,579 They are on the path to hell. 512 00:26:32,579 –> 00:26:34,699 They are so dead in their sins 513 00:26:34,699 –> 00:26:36,760 that they do not even know what they are doing. 514 00:26:36,760 –> 00:26:38,300 But Christ prays for them 515 00:26:38,300 –> 00:26:39,900 and he prays for them then. 516 00:26:40,920 –> 00:26:41,859 See, this is the point. 517 00:26:41,859 –> 00:26:43,339 Christ prays for us 518 00:26:43,339 –> 00:26:46,520 long before we ever start thinking about praying to him. 519 00:26:48,219 –> 00:26:51,219 The love of Christ is not a response 520 00:26:51,219 –> 00:26:53,500 to your initiative to come to him 521 00:26:53,500 –> 00:26:54,859 in repentance and faith. 522 00:26:54,859 –> 00:26:57,380 No, the love of Christ streams out to you 523 00:26:57,400 –> 00:27:00,459 and is the means by which you are led 524 00:27:00,459 –> 00:27:01,800 to repentance and faith 525 00:27:01,800 –> 00:27:04,079 when you see the extent of this love. 526 00:27:06,219 –> 00:27:08,680 He loved them when they were sinning against him. 527 00:27:08,680 –> 00:27:11,619 He prayed for them before they ever prayed for themselves. 528 00:27:13,060 –> 00:27:15,319 Thirdly, he asks the father to forgive them. 529 00:27:17,640 –> 00:27:19,219 I feel the wonder of this prayer 530 00:27:19,219 –> 00:27:21,680 as we think about it and try and get inside of it. 531 00:27:23,500 –> 00:27:25,520 Oh, in perfect justice. 532 00:27:26,359 –> 00:27:30,880 If you want justice, here’s what it would look like, 533 00:27:30,880 –> 00:27:35,800 father destroy them, father destroy them. 534 00:27:35,800 –> 00:27:37,099 That would be justice. 535 00:27:38,839 –> 00:27:40,280 But he does not make that prayer. 536 00:27:40,280 –> 00:27:41,920 He prays, father forgive them. 537 00:27:45,140 –> 00:27:50,140 You may have hated God, but God does not hate you. 538 00:27:53,319 –> 00:27:55,260 You may be here this morning, 539 00:27:55,920 –> 00:27:57,359 and people come in all kinds of conditions 540 00:27:57,359 –> 00:27:59,099 of heart to church, and in your heart, 541 00:27:59,099 –> 00:28:02,420 there may be an anger, a resentment, 542 00:28:02,420 –> 00:28:04,540 a bitterness toward God. 543 00:28:06,599 –> 00:28:08,099 I tell you, you may hate God, 544 00:28:10,020 –> 00:28:12,719 but God does not hate you. 545 00:28:14,599 –> 00:28:18,280 Christ prays for the worst of sinners, 546 00:28:18,280 –> 00:28:21,439 and for that reason, God is ready to forgive you. 547 00:28:22,300 –> 00:28:27,119 Clarence Cranford has a lovely picture. 548 00:28:27,119 –> 00:28:29,819 He says, by this prayer on the cross, 549 00:28:29,819 –> 00:28:33,959 Jesus was building a bridge of forgiveness 550 00:28:33,959 –> 00:28:37,260 over which his tormentors could come 551 00:28:37,260 –> 00:28:40,339 in penitence to the Father, isn’t that beautiful? 552 00:28:40,339 –> 00:28:42,380 By this prayer, he bilds a bridge 553 00:28:42,380 –> 00:28:46,119 over which they could come in penitence to the Father. 554 00:28:47,239 –> 00:28:50,319 F.W. Krumacher uses another picture, 555 00:28:50,359 –> 00:28:53,959 he says, in these words Jesus takes sinners 556 00:28:53,959 –> 00:28:58,760 in his arms of love and he bears them up the steps 557 00:28:58,760 –> 00:29:02,979 to his Father’s throne so that they may find mercy. 558 00:29:02,979 –> 00:29:04,760 Isn’t that beautiful? 559 00:29:04,760 –> 00:29:06,160 That’s what Jesus does. 560 00:29:08,040 –> 00:29:10,319 Now you say how in the world is this possible? 561 00:29:11,439 –> 00:29:13,359 How is it possible for God to forgive 562 00:29:13,359 –> 00:29:17,920 the very worst of sins and embrace the worst of sinners? 563 00:29:20,719 –> 00:29:22,040 Maybe you would say today, 564 00:29:22,040 –> 00:29:23,760 oh pastor you don’t know what I’ve done, 565 00:29:23,760 –> 00:29:24,800 you don’t know what I’ve thought, 566 00:29:24,800 –> 00:29:26,300 you don’t know what I’ve said. 567 00:29:27,599 –> 00:29:31,000 Is it really possible for the love of God to embrace me? 568 00:29:33,000 –> 00:29:35,239 Well here’s how it is possible 569 00:29:36,119 –> 00:29:38,520 and it takes us to the very heart of the cross. 570 00:29:40,260 –> 00:29:43,500 When Jesus said, Father forgive them, 571 00:29:44,760 –> 00:29:49,760 he was isolating himself under the judgment of God. 572 00:29:51,000 –> 00:29:54,079 That takes you to the very heart of what’s going here. 573 00:29:55,540 –> 00:29:57,400 When Jesus said, Father forgive them, 574 00:29:57,400 –> 00:30:02,400 he was isolating himself under the judgment of God. 575 00:30:03,300 –> 00:30:05,719 Let me explain what I mean by that. 576 00:30:07,199 –> 00:30:11,880 On that day, our human sin reached its full horror 577 00:30:11,880 –> 00:30:14,560 and its most awful expression at Calvary 578 00:30:14,560 –> 00:30:16,520 as we crucified God’s son. 579 00:30:17,520 –> 00:30:20,560 And if ever, if ever there was a moment 580 00:30:20,560 –> 00:30:24,219 in all of human history where God’s judgment had to fall, 581 00:30:24,219 –> 00:30:25,939 it was that day. 582 00:30:25,939 –> 00:30:26,819 Had to fall. 583 00:30:28,699 –> 00:30:32,000 But at this moment where God’s judgment had to fall, 584 00:30:32,979 –> 00:30:36,959 Jesus cries out, Father forgive them. 585 00:30:36,959 –> 00:30:38,140 Forgive them. 586 00:30:39,300 –> 00:30:41,380 They do not know what they are doing. 587 00:30:41,900 –> 00:30:45,359 And I say that in this prayer, 588 00:30:45,359 –> 00:30:49,000 Christ was isolating himself under the judgment of God. 589 00:30:49,000 –> 00:30:51,959 He knew that the judgment of God would, would fall, 590 00:30:51,959 –> 00:30:55,719 it had to fall, but he cries out to the Father, 591 00:30:55,719 –> 00:30:57,599 don’t let it fall on them. 592 00:30:58,800 –> 00:31:02,000 Let it fall on me, let it be on me alone. 593 00:31:02,000 –> 00:31:04,520 Let me be the lightning rod for your judgment. 594 00:31:04,520 –> 00:31:07,479 Allow me to be the sacrifice that is consumed 595 00:31:07,479 –> 00:31:09,119 on this altar of the cross. 596 00:31:09,119 –> 00:31:11,160 Don’t let your judgment fall on them. 597 00:31:12,380 –> 00:31:16,420 The eyes of angels must’ve been transfixed 598 00:31:16,420 –> 00:31:20,260 on the throne of God waiting for the judgment to fall. 599 00:31:20,260 –> 00:31:21,939 And friends, it did. 600 00:31:23,939 –> 00:31:28,939 But it fell on Jesus and on Jesus alone. 601 00:31:31,260 –> 00:31:33,099 And this is the heart of the gospel, 602 00:31:33,099 –> 00:31:35,819 that Jesus stands under the judgment of God 603 00:31:35,819 –> 00:31:38,739 for the sins that were committed against him. 604 00:31:38,739 –> 00:31:40,739 For our sins that were committed against him 605 00:31:40,819 –> 00:31:42,219 as well as theirs. 606 00:31:43,300 –> 00:31:45,780 He asks the Father to divert the punishment 607 00:31:45,780 –> 00:31:49,900 away from his enemies and he absorbs it in himself. 608 00:31:49,900 –> 00:31:54,479 And this is how forgiveness is released to you and to me. 609 00:31:55,819 –> 00:31:58,199 God’s judgment is poured out on human sin 610 00:31:58,199 –> 00:32:00,260 but not on the sinners but on the Savior, 611 00:32:01,579 –> 00:32:06,420 not on them but on Him, not on us but on Jesus. 612 00:32:07,260 –> 00:32:09,819 And He bears it on the cross 613 00:32:09,819 –> 00:32:11,560 and that is how He builds the bridge 614 00:32:11,560 –> 00:32:13,260 over which we may come to God 615 00:32:13,260 –> 00:32:14,880 and find mercy and forgiveness. 616 00:32:14,880 –> 00:32:17,300 That is how He bears us in His loving arms 617 00:32:17,300 –> 00:32:18,900 up the steps of the throne of God 618 00:32:18,900 –> 00:32:22,239 so that He may commend us to God’s mercy. 619 00:32:22,239 –> 00:32:23,780 And when we come in His arms, 620 00:32:23,780 –> 00:32:25,680 that mercy will never be refused. 621 00:32:28,099 –> 00:32:30,699 By the way, I would not dare to ascend the steps 622 00:32:30,699 –> 00:32:32,819 to the throne of God on my own, would you? 623 00:32:33,819 –> 00:32:35,959 I love Krumacher’s picture, 624 00:32:35,959 –> 00:32:38,199 to be born in the arms of Jesus 625 00:32:38,199 –> 00:32:40,180 up the steps to the throne of God 626 00:32:40,180 –> 00:32:45,180 so that He may commend you to the mercy of God. 627 00:32:47,439 –> 00:32:50,739 Well, if He does that in the light of the cross, 628 00:32:52,640 –> 00:32:57,079 you are safe, you are forgiven in Him. 629 00:32:58,060 –> 00:33:03,060 Jesus says, Father forgive them. 630 00:33:05,400 –> 00:33:06,599 Who is them? 631 00:33:08,260 –> 00:33:09,680 The soldiers? 632 00:33:09,680 –> 00:33:12,699 What about Peter who denied? 633 00:33:13,979 –> 00:33:17,859 What about the 3,000 people who came to faith in Christ 634 00:33:17,859 –> 00:33:20,000 just a few weeks later on the day of Pentecost? 635 00:33:20,000 –> 00:33:20,819 They’re in there. 636 00:33:21,959 –> 00:33:25,699 One more quote from Spurgeon, I love this. 637 00:33:26,699 –> 00:33:31,040 Spurgeon says I really like the word them 638 00:33:31,040 –> 00:33:35,439 because it is big enough for me to crawl inside. 639 00:33:35,439 –> 00:33:36,380 You like that? 640 00:33:38,140 –> 00:33:40,540 Friends the word them is big enough 641 00:33:40,540 –> 00:33:42,839 for you to crawl inside today. 642 00:33:44,560 –> 00:33:46,099 Father forgive them. 643 00:33:47,819 –> 00:33:49,979 You can crawl inside this prayer 644 00:33:49,979 –> 00:33:52,260 in this wonderful promise of Jesus, 645 00:33:52,260 –> 00:33:55,939 by faith the Savior who already reaches out to you, 646 00:33:55,939 –> 00:33:57,579 who’s been loving you and praying for you 647 00:33:57,579 –> 00:33:59,880 before you’ve ever begun to think about Him, 648 00:33:59,880 –> 00:34:01,400 you may come to him today 649 00:34:01,400 –> 00:34:04,859 and he will bear you in his arms to the mercy of God. 650 00:34:04,859 –> 00:34:07,400 You can crawl inside the them. 651 00:34:09,540 –> 00:34:11,379 Two questions and then we’re through. 652 00:34:12,979 –> 00:34:14,159 The first is simply this, 653 00:34:14,159 –> 00:34:19,159 are you awake to the extent of your own sin? 654 00:34:19,379 –> 00:34:21,300 That inevitably is a question 655 00:34:21,300 –> 00:34:23,639 that comes out of this meditation today. 656 00:34:25,659 –> 00:34:28,300 I’m talking to all of us who are Christians here, 657 00:34:29,419 –> 00:34:31,979 are you seeing as you grow as a Christian 658 00:34:31,979 –> 00:34:33,580 not only that you are a sinner? 659 00:34:33,580 –> 00:34:35,360 It’s easy to say, oh, yeah, yeah, I know, I’m a sinner, 660 00:34:35,360 –> 00:34:37,139 I know that, yes. 661 00:34:37,139 –> 00:34:39,659 But are you beginning to see that your sin 662 00:34:39,659 –> 00:34:41,979 is far greater than you would ever imagined? 663 00:34:44,860 –> 00:34:48,219 Listen, prostitutes and tax collectors came to Jesus 664 00:34:48,219 –> 00:34:49,939 while the Pharisees stood back. 665 00:34:49,939 –> 00:34:51,219 Why was that? 666 00:34:51,260 –> 00:34:55,300 Because the prostitutes and tax collectors, in some cases, 667 00:34:55,300 –> 00:34:58,659 saw the extent of their own sin, 668 00:34:58,659 –> 00:35:00,080 and therefore they were the ones 669 00:35:00,080 –> 00:35:02,919 who were first to know the full extent of Christ’s love. 670 00:35:05,139 –> 00:35:07,580 There’s a relationship between these two things. 671 00:35:09,780 –> 00:35:13,979 I say to you today, please, please do not go through 672 00:35:13,979 –> 00:35:16,840 your life thinking you are a good person. 673 00:35:18,419 –> 00:35:20,860 You will never know the extent of the love of Christ 674 00:35:20,860 –> 00:35:21,919 that way. 675 00:35:22,939 –> 00:35:25,879 It is those who have been forgiven much who love much, 676 00:35:25,879 –> 00:35:28,219 and if you were to know much of the love of Christ, 677 00:35:28,219 –> 00:35:29,820 the means by which that will happen 678 00:35:29,820 –> 00:35:32,179 is that you have a growing awareness of your own sin. 679 00:35:32,179 –> 00:35:34,179 Then you will see how much He loves you. 680 00:35:36,219 –> 00:35:38,379 If you’re the kind of person who’s got used to, 681 00:35:38,379 –> 00:35:40,100 in an evangelical kind of way, to say, 682 00:35:40,100 –> 00:35:41,580 oh yes, I’ve meant that I’m a sinner. 683 00:35:41,580 –> 00:35:43,020 But you can hardly think of 684 00:35:43,020 –> 00:35:46,000 a single nameable sin in your life! 685 00:35:46,000 –> 00:35:47,979 You’re not awake to your own sin. 686 00:35:47,979 –> 00:35:49,760 And that’s one of the main reasons 687 00:35:49,780 –> 00:35:52,899 why you don’t know the extent of Christ’s love! 688 00:35:54,879 –> 00:35:57,840 When you see how much you need to be forgiven 689 00:35:57,840 –> 00:36:00,280 then you will see how much you are loved. 690 00:36:00,280 –> 00:36:01,580 That’s the principle here. 691 00:36:04,520 –> 00:36:06,360 And, of course, that will be made clear to you 692 00:36:06,360 –> 00:36:08,260 when you stand in the glory of heaven. 693 00:36:09,320 –> 00:36:11,399 On that day, you’re gonna see the brightness, 694 00:36:11,399 –> 00:36:12,699 you’re gonna see the glory. 695 00:36:12,699 –> 00:36:15,780 And when you see it, all the purity of heaven, 696 00:36:15,780 –> 00:36:18,760 you’ll say, I never knew that I was this far 697 00:36:18,760 –> 00:36:20,300 from being righteous. 698 00:36:22,199 –> 00:36:25,040 And you will say how can I possibly be here 699 00:36:25,040 –> 00:36:27,679 in all this splendor and joy and light, 700 00:36:27,679 –> 00:36:29,239 how can I belong here? 701 00:36:29,239 –> 00:36:30,080 Me! 702 00:36:31,020 –> 00:36:33,239 And there will only be one answer to that question, 703 00:36:33,239 –> 00:36:35,719 you are there through the righteousness 704 00:36:35,719 –> 00:36:37,939 and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ 705 00:36:37,939 –> 00:36:41,840 made yours by faith in his shed blood. 706 00:36:41,840 –> 00:36:44,719 When you come to know the extent of your own sin 707 00:36:44,719 –> 00:36:47,459 then you will see the extent of Christ’s love. 708 00:36:47,459 –> 00:36:48,540 The two grow together. 709 00:36:49,739 –> 00:36:54,679 Self-righteous people never feel loved by Christ. 710 00:36:56,520 –> 00:36:59,379 Don’t wait for heaven for that. 711 00:37:01,840 –> 00:37:03,679 Ask God to show you more of your sin, 712 00:37:03,679 –> 00:37:05,739 build that into your prayer life 713 00:37:05,739 –> 00:37:07,879 so that you may discover more of his love. 714 00:37:09,020 –> 00:37:11,399 Make the habit of identifying and confessing 715 00:37:11,399 –> 00:37:14,919 particular sins, naming them, writing them down. 716 00:37:15,399 –> 00:37:19,159 Use a Psalm like Psalm 139, 717 00:37:19,159 –> 00:37:21,040 search me, O God, and try me, 718 00:37:21,040 –> 00:37:23,760 see if there’s any wicked way within me. 719 00:37:23,760 –> 00:37:25,340 Examine yourself, 720 00:37:26,639 –> 00:37:28,679 ask a friend to help you in this 721 00:37:28,679 –> 00:37:30,620 if you think that that will be useful. 722 00:37:32,040 –> 00:37:34,780 But understand that if you think that your sins are few, 723 00:37:34,780 –> 00:37:36,340 you will not have great thoughts 724 00:37:36,340 –> 00:37:37,760 about the love of Christ. 725 00:37:37,760 –> 00:37:40,439 But when you see that your sins are many 726 00:37:40,439 –> 00:37:42,120 and that Christ forgives you, 727 00:37:42,120 –> 00:37:44,419 you will begin to see the extent of his love, 728 00:37:44,419 –> 00:37:45,659 that is how it works. 729 00:37:48,100 –> 00:37:49,320 And just ask then are you awake 730 00:37:49,320 –> 00:37:51,280 to the extent of your own sin? 731 00:37:51,280 –> 00:37:53,820 Because I want you to know more of Christ’s love. 732 00:37:56,060 –> 00:37:57,800 The last question is simply this, 733 00:37:57,800 –> 00:38:02,800 are you enjoying the love of Christ who forgives? 734 00:38:06,340 –> 00:38:07,659 Please understand this, 735 00:38:07,659 –> 00:38:11,620 that forgiveness is a gift of Christ’s love. 736 00:38:11,620 –> 00:38:16,620 It is never a legal process, it is a gift of love. 737 00:38:23,459 –> 00:38:28,459 Tuesday of this week flew back from a few days 738 00:38:28,939 –> 00:38:32,080 with my parents in Scotland. 739 00:38:33,300 –> 00:38:35,219 And of course reentering the country 740 00:38:35,219 –> 00:38:37,959 always means going through passport control. 741 00:38:37,959 –> 00:38:39,600 For all the times I’ve done that over 742 00:38:39,600 –> 00:38:41,379 the years I’ve got to say, 743 00:38:41,639 –> 00:38:43,639 I love the way that these folks do their job 744 00:38:43,639 –> 00:38:46,419 at the airport, checking the passports, 745 00:38:46,419 –> 00:38:48,919 I’ve always found them to be courteous 746 00:38:48,919 –> 00:38:53,399 and kind and efficient and they’re there to do a job, 747 00:38:53,399 –> 00:38:55,679 they’re there to protect a border 748 00:38:55,679 –> 00:38:58,000 and I understand that with all their kindness 749 00:38:58,000 –> 00:39:01,840 they don’t have any particular personal interest in me. 750 00:39:03,320 –> 00:39:04,399 And I was thinking about that, 751 00:39:04,399 –> 00:39:06,639 coming back into the country this week 752 00:39:06,639 –> 00:39:08,780 and thinking about this theme. 753 00:39:09,379 –> 00:39:14,379 Listen, if you are a person who believes 754 00:39:14,639 –> 00:39:17,139 that Jesus died and rose and that he forgave sins 755 00:39:17,139 –> 00:39:18,780 and that he opens the gates of heaven 756 00:39:18,780 –> 00:39:23,000 but that you do not really deeply feel that he loves you 757 00:39:25,120 –> 00:39:28,040 it may be that you have come to think of God 758 00:39:28,040 –> 00:39:30,840 like the people on passport control. 759 00:39:32,580 –> 00:39:34,800 That he’s there with a kind of heavenly stamp 760 00:39:36,320 –> 00:39:38,139 and that he’s letting the right people in 761 00:39:38,159 –> 00:39:39,820 and he’s keeping the wrong people out 762 00:39:39,820 –> 00:39:41,540 and he’s protecting the border, 763 00:39:41,540 –> 00:39:43,639 and he’s upholding the law. 764 00:39:45,340 –> 00:39:47,179 I’ll tell you, if that is how you think of God 765 00:39:47,179 –> 00:39:49,080 you will never feel that he loves you. 766 00:39:50,520 –> 00:39:51,959 I’ve been welcomed. 767 00:39:53,020 –> 00:39:54,120 Warmly welcomed. 768 00:39:55,659 –> 00:39:57,820 By the good folks on passport control. 769 00:39:59,360 –> 00:40:03,080 Welcome back home pastor Smith, I love it. 770 00:40:04,000 –> 00:40:04,840 Welcome. 771 00:40:07,000 –> 00:40:09,360 But I have never felt loved by them. 772 00:40:11,260 –> 00:40:12,100 All right. 773 00:40:13,560 –> 00:40:16,020 And that’s where some of us are I think, 774 00:40:16,020 –> 00:40:17,719 precisely in relation to God. 775 00:40:17,719 –> 00:40:20,699 Listen, God doesn’t deal with you as a case. 776 00:40:22,239 –> 00:40:23,620 He loves you as a person. 777 00:40:25,120 –> 00:40:29,520 The son of God embraces you in his love. 778 00:40:29,520 –> 00:40:31,699 He prays for you. 779 00:40:31,760 –> 00:40:35,540 He lifts you up the steps to the throne of almighty God 780 00:40:35,540 –> 00:40:37,860 and ask that you should be forgiven. 781 00:40:37,860 –> 00:40:40,459 He goes to a cross and he suffers and he dies 782 00:40:40,459 –> 00:40:44,679 and he says, not on them but on me, 783 00:40:44,679 –> 00:40:47,500 and he bears that wrath for you 784 00:40:47,500 –> 00:40:49,899 and he set his love on you 785 00:40:49,899 –> 00:40:53,399 before you had a single thought about him. 786 00:40:53,399 –> 00:40:56,000 And his love streams out to you today 787 00:40:56,000 –> 00:40:59,300 and his great desire is to share your life here 788 00:40:59,300 –> 00:41:02,699 until you share his life there. 789 00:41:02,699 –> 00:41:06,840 Are you beginning to see the extent of his love? 790 00:41:08,179 –> 00:41:09,699 Let’s pray together, shall we? 791 00:41:12,020 –> 00:41:16,179 I invite you today to embrace the Savior who forgives, 792 00:41:17,100 –> 00:41:19,699 don’t let anything hold you back from him today 793 00:41:23,179 –> 00:41:26,439 and as with me you see your need to be forgiven, 794 00:41:26,439 –> 00:41:28,379 you can join Jesus in his prayer. 795 00:41:28,379 –> 00:41:30,280 He says, Father, forgive them 796 00:41:32,239 –> 00:41:35,820 so you can say, Father, forgive me. 797 00:41:38,800 –> 00:41:41,360 Savior loves you, he reaches out to you right now 798 00:41:41,360 –> 00:41:42,639 so come to him, 799 00:41:45,219 –> 00:41:48,520 receive the forgiveness that he purchased on the cross 800 00:41:48,520 –> 00:41:50,580 and that right now he offers to you. 801 00:41:51,520 –> 00:41:53,679 Come to him over the bridge that he built, 802 00:41:54,000 –> 00:41:59,000 come by faith into the arms that are stretched out to you. 803 00:42:00,800 –> 00:42:02,379 Come to him in repentance, 804 00:42:04,020 –> 00:42:06,360 bind yourself to him in faith, 805 00:42:09,439 –> 00:42:13,780 and let him lead you into a new and forgiven life 806 00:42:15,659 –> 00:42:19,919 through Jesus Christ our Lord and everyone said, amen.