Praying for the Person Who Causes You Pain

Luke 23:34
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Pastor Colin shares his deepening conviction that his greatest privilege and highest responsibility as a pastor is to clearly communicate the love of God through Jesus Christ, as expressed in the Bible. He introduces a sermon series titled “The Full Extent of His Love,” which explores how Jesus demonstrated His love during the events leading up to and including His crucifixion.

He explains that the phrase “the full extent of His love” is taken from John 13, where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet and ultimately sacrifices Himself on the cross. According to Colin, the love of Jesus is unparalleled, as noted in Romans 5:8, where God demonstrates His love by having Christ die for us while we were still sinners.

Colin emphasises that many people may believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection yet still struggle to feel God’s love personally. He aims to help the congregation see the cross as the ultimate expression of God’s love for them, encouraging them to recognise that nobody will ever love them like Christ does.

He focuses on the seven times Jesus spoke while on the cross, revealing more of His love with each utterance. The sermon series will delve into these “seven cries from the cross” to explore the depth of Jesus’ love further.

Colin sets the stage by recounting the events leading to the crucifixion, highlighting the universal rejection of Jesus by politicians, theologians, and common people alike. He points out that the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus were not just historical events but are reflective of our own contemporary rejection of God’s sovereignty in favour of our autonomy.

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.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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You know that Jesus suffered and died on the cross…but you’re not sure how this was an act of love for you. Jesus spoke seven times during the three hours he was hanging on the cross, and each time he spoke, he revealed more of his love. In this series, we’ll hear Jesus’ words from

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