Lessons of Mercy and Intercession from the Cross

In this sermon, I emphasized the significance of the seven words spoken by Jesus on the cross, highlighting the profound lessons they hold for us today. I stressed the importance of intercession, reminding the congregation that no one is beyond the reach of prayer. I also discussed the story of the repentant thief, underscoring the message that it's never too late to receive God's mercy. Furthermore, I delved into Jesus' concern for his mother, Mary, and his trust in John to care for her, demonstrating his selflessness even in his suffering. Lastly, I touched on Jesus' feeling of abandonment, a testament to the depth of his sacrifice for humanity.

Key Takeaways:
- The first words spoken by Jesus on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing," teach us that no one is beyond the reach of prayer. ([01:04:46])
- The story of the repentant thief, to whom Jesus said, "I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise," reminds us that it's never too late to receive God's mercy. ([45:47])
- Jesus' concern for his mother and his trust in John to care for her, as evidenced by his words, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to John, "Here is your mother," demonstrate his selflessness even in his suffering. ([53:06])
- Jesus' cry of "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" underscores the depth of his sacrifice for humanity. ([52:37])
- The sermon encourages us to continue praying for lost friends and family members, assuring us that they can still be reached through intercession. ([49:06])

Bible Passages:
1. Isaiah 53:1-12
2. Luke 23:32-43
3. John 19:25-27
4. Matthew 27:45-54

Key Points from the sermon:
1. No one is beyond the reach of prayer and God's mercy.
2. Jesus' concern for others, even in His suffering.
3. The power of forgiveness and mercy shown by Jesus on the cross.
4. The importance of faith and trust in God, even in times of abandonment.

Observation Questions:
1. What does Isaiah 53 tell us about the suffering of Jesus?
2. How does Luke 23:32-43 depict the interaction between Jesus and the two criminals?
3. What does John 19:25-27 reveal about Jesus' concern for His mother?
4. In Matthew 27:45-54, what is Jesus' emotional state on the cross?

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does Isaiah 53 help us understand the significance of Jesus' suffering?
2. What can we learn from Jesus' interaction with the two criminals in Luke 23:32-43?
3. What does Jesus' concern for His mother in John 19:25-27 teach us about His character?
4. How does Jesus' cry of abandonment in Matthew 27:45-54 relate to our own experiences of feeling abandoned by God?

Application Questions:
1. How can we apply the lesson of Isaiah 53 about Jesus' suffering in our own lives?
2. What can we learn from Jesus' forgiveness and mercy towards the criminals in Luke 23:32-43?
3. How can Jesus' concern for His mother in John 19:25-27 inspire us to care for others?
4. How can we maintain our faith and trust in God, even when we feel abandoned, as Jesus did in Matthew 27:45-54?

Day 1: The Power of Intercession

Intercession is a powerful tool in our spiritual arsenal. It is the act of praying on behalf of others, especially those who seem beyond our reach. It is a demonstration of love and compassion, and it is a way for us to participate in God's work in the world.

1 Timothy 2:1 - "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you prayed for someone who seemed beyond reach. Did you see any changes in their life or attitude? If not, how can you continue to intercede for them in prayer?

Day 2: The Mercy of Jesus

Jesus' mercy is boundless and available to all, no matter how far we may feel we have strayed. His mercy is a testament to His love for us, and it is a gift that we are called to accept and share with others.

Luke 6:36 - "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Reflection: Can you recall a time when you felt you were too far gone to receive God's mercy? How did you experience His mercy in that situation? If you haven't, how can you open your heart to receive His mercy?

Day 3: Jesus' Concern for Others

Even in His own suffering, Jesus showed concern for others. His compassion is a model for us to follow, reminding us to look beyond our own pain and reach out to those around us.

Matthew 9:36 - "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Reflection: Think of a time when you were in pain or suffering. Were you able to show concern for others during that time? If not, how can you cultivate a heart of compassion like Jesus, even in your own suffering?

Day 4: The Trustworthiness of Jesus

Jesus is trustworthy, and He entrusts us with responsibilities. He calls us to be faithful in carrying out these responsibilities, just as He is faithful to us.

1 Corinthians 4:2 - "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."

Reflection: Reflect on a responsibility that Jesus has entrusted to you. Have you been faithful in carrying it out? If not, what steps can you take to prove yourself faithful?

Day 5: The Suffering of Jesus

Jesus suffered greatly, yet He remained faithful to God. His example is a source of strength for us in our own trials, reminding us that we are not alone in our suffering.

Isaiah 53:3 - "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you felt abandoned in your suffering. Were you able to remain faithful to God during that time? If not, how can you draw strength from Jesus' example in your future trials?

That, as you hung on that cross, you were thinking of us even in this moment right now.

So Father, I pray that you would just begin to speak to us, to open our ears to hear, open our hearts to receive. That the words you spoke on the cross have significance and power in our lives today.

So help us to understand this moment even greater. In Jesus’ name, amen. Everyone said amen.

It’s great to see all of you who have joined us tonight. And those of you who may not know me, and I know we do have a number of guests this evening, but if you’re not aware, I’ll just let you know what the rest of the crowd already knows, and that is I have three of the smartest grandchildren on the face of the Earth.

And if you want to argue about that, right now I’ve got the microphone, okay? But, just yesterday, my youngest grandchild here on the front row, Kelsey, said, “Why do we call it Good Friday? It wasn’t good because Jesus died.”

And, you know, I think she has a point. It certainly was not good for the disciples. Most of them had lost hope so much that they—I shouldn’t say most of them. All of them, except one, had lost hope and didn’t even show up at the cross. The women who were there were grief-stricken.

In fact, it was so horrific for Jesus. Seven hundred years before he was even born, the prophet Isaiah told us what it was going to be like. And he said, “Many people were shocked when they saw him. His appearance was so changed, so damaged. He did not look like a man. His form was changed so much, they could barely tell he was human, if you can imagine.”

So, it certainly wasn’t good for Jesus. But Bennett, the middle grandchild, piped up about that time and said, “Kelsey, it wasn’t good for Jesus, but it was good for us because he paid the price for our salvation.” I told you they’re smart grandkids.

And it really can only be considered good for those of us who are on this side of the cross. Those who were in the biblical story didn’t have the advantage of knowing how it was going to end. But we’ve lived on the other side of the cross and recognized the beauty of what he did.

And so tonight, I want to talk to you about the seven words that he spoke from the cross. I know a lot of churches have done that, a lot of preachers have done it. I’ve been at this for more than 50 years, and I’ve never ever preached this message before. But I want to talk to you about it.

The first thing that he said from the cross was, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” I’m sure that applied to the Roman soldiers who were gambling for his robe. It may have applied to the people even who were standing nearby. They didn’t know what they were doing.

And so, he prayed that the Father would forgive them. And you know, even that was fulfilling a prophecy from 700 years earlier. Isaiah had said, “He made intercession for the transgressors.” That’s what he was doing on the cross. He was making intercession for those who had transgressed.

And it’s telling me that very first thing that he had to say is that no one is beyond the reach of prayer. No one. Doesn’t matter if you are the subject of someone’s prayers. I think I’m talking to some people tonight, and you’re here. You know the Lord now because somebody made intercession for you.

But it doesn’t matter if you’re the one that was receiving prayer or if you’re the one who has been praying prayers. I’ve got good news for you, too. It’s never too late. And no one is ever beyond the reach of prayer.

So that lost friend, that lost child, that lost spouse, who doesn’t know the Lord Jesus, don’t stop praying. Don’t stop praying. Because they can still be reached through his intercession.

The second thing he said from the cross was, “I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” And of course, that’s the story of, as you probably know already, there were two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. One on either side. One of them mocked him, cursed him, didn’t want anything to do with him.

But the other was a repentant thief. Some, the Roman Catholic Church gave that thief a name. The Bible doesn’t name him, but the Roman Catholic Church says his name was Dismus. And they have suggested, some of the fathers have suggested, that Dismus really wasn’t that bad. Augustine thought he had been baptized at some earlier point in his life.

I don’t know about any of that. The Bible doesn’t tell us, of course. But I really don’t think they would have crucified him for petty theft. Either crucifixion was reserved for the worst of criminals. So, I think it’s more likely that Dismus was guilty of grand larceny with special circumstances.

But if there was mercy for him, there’s mercy for anyone. Whether you’re here watching, whether you’re here in the room right now, or you’re watching this online, no one is beyond his reach.

And even in his dying moments, Dismus sought forgiveness. He said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And that’s what prompted Jesus to give that second word: “I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

It was never too late to receive his mercy. I’m talking to somebody right now. I don’t know who it is, but I do know you’ve heard the enemy say, “It’s too late for you. You’ve sinned too much. You’ve done too many things. God’s not ever going to forgive you.”

But those are all lies from the enemy of your soul. It’s never too late.

The third thing that Jesus said from the cross is found in John chapter 19. It says, “When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved…” And we know what C.L.C. that disciple he loved was, John. Who wasn’t ashamed of it.

And he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to his disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on, this disciple took her into his home.

Before we even look at that third word from the cross, it was remarkable to me. I told you, I’ve never done this type of message before. And it was remarkable to me as I looked at these seven words to realize that even when Jesus was suffering the most—and that’s a minor understatement. I mean, he’s suffering beyond anything you or I have ever experienced.

And yet, even in that moment, he’s more concerned about other people than he is about himself. In fact, the first three of his seven words were all directed at helping somebody else. He expressed forgiveness for those who were crucifying him. He expressed mercy for the thief who repented. And he expressed concern for his mother to be cared for.

It’s amazing. And it’s understandable why he would be concerned about Mary’s well-being because Joseph had long since died, and being a widow is difficult even today. But in that day, it was a major problem, a major difficulty.

And so, it’s understandable that he would want to make sure that someone was going to be caring for his mother after he was gone. But why John? Why? Why would he choose John?

Because the Bible tells us of at least four half-brothers of Jesus. Did you know that Jesus had half-brothers who were the sons of Mary and Joseph, making them a half-brother to Jesus? And at least four. And yet, he didn’t entrust her care to any of them.

He could have said, “Go home with James, who later became the bishop of the church in Jerusalem, wrote the Book of James.” But the only answer I can find in Scripture is that none of his half-brothers had yet believed in him.

I think that’s probably understandable, too. What would it take for you to be convinced that your brother was the Son of God? You know, it’d be a tall tale, you know.

But—John. John chapter 7—I’m going to, for the sake of time, I want to skip down to verse number 5. It says, “So, no—” excuse me. “Verse 4. ‘If you want to be well known, you must not hide what you do. So, if you can do such amazing things, catch that—if you can do such amazing things—’ the half-brothers of Jesus said, ‘If you can do such amazing things—let the whole world see you do them.’”

Jesus’ brothers said this because even they did not believe in him. His own brothers didn’t really believe he was the Son of God. And it wasn’t according to history. It wasn’t until after the resurrection that James believed and was born again.

So, why, why? Who? Why would Jesus leave the care of his mother in John’s capable arms? Well, maybe, maybe the reason is because not only were his half-brothers not around, but John was the only man at the cross.

That embarrasses me tonight. That it was only women who followed him that far. But John was there at his side at the cross, and he—not only was the one that Jesus loved, he was also the one that Jesus trusted.

And he said, “I want you to care for my mother.”

And then, the fourth word from the cross came at three o’clock, at the end of that three hours of great darkness, the Bible said had fallen. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some people have asked, “Was he having a lapse of faith? Did Jesus somehow on the cross, did he think the Father was leaving him?” I don’t think that’s it at all.

Others have said, “Oh, it was a fulfilled prophecy.” And I know that’s true because Psalm 22 and 1 opens up with those exact words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But you know the scripture says the New Testament tells us that he who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

In other words, there was a moment when the sinless Son of God took upon himself all the sins of the entire world. Not just people who were alive then, but all sins before and after the cross. Your sins were on his shoulders on the cross.

And I’ve come to the conclusion that this is when it happened. When the sins of the whole world were placed upon him, who had never known sin, who was perfect in every way, the sinless Lamb of God, all of a sudden, the sins that were placed on him caused him to call out because he felt, at that moment, like you feel when you’ve sinned, or I feel when I’ve sinned.

He called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Because he felt like a sinner feels with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He became sin for us.

The fifth word from the cross is in John chapter 19, verse 28, which says, “Jesus knew that his mission was now finished.”

Catch these words. “And to fulfill scripture, he said, ‘I am thirsty.’” This passage has long intrigued me. That from the way I read that, at least, it didn’t really mean that Jesus was—I’m sure he probably was thirsty because he’s been hanging on that cross, he’s dehydrated by now, no doubt, and he is suffering physically.

So, I’m sure he could have been thirsty. But I don’t read it that that’s why he did it. What I read in that passage is, in order to fulfill scripture, he knew, as he was thinking in his mind at the cross, he knew that there was one more prophecy that had not yet been fulfilled.

Out of the dozens of prophecies that he had already fulfilled in his earthly ministry, out of about 20 prophecies that he fulfilled during his experience on the cross, there was still one that had not been fulfilled.

He knew that it was prophesied that he would say, “I’m thirsty,” and they would bring him some sour wine to drink. And in order to trigger that and make sure—catch this, he was making sure that not one word of God would fall to the ground.

He was making sure that every promise of scripture was going to come to pass. And so, he said, “I’m thirsty.” And they ran and got some sour wine and put it on a reed and held it up and touched his lips.

And when he had tasted it, he wouldn’t drink it. But he did go on then to say, the sixth word from the cross, when Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished.”

He said that not in English but in Aramaic. And in Aramaic and in Greek, it’s not three words like we have in English, “It is finished.” It’s one word: “tetelestai.”

And the “tele” means “paid in full.” That’s what Jesus said on the cross. “I’ve paid the price in full. Every scripture has now been fulfilled that was spoken of me. I’ve done what I came to do for you, for your salvation. I’ve paid the price for all that you need. I’ve done that.”

And then, finally, the seventh and final word from the cross, he said, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands.”

In other words, Jesus did not die the usual death of crucifixion. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about that, as to what was the fatal. And I’m sure the loss of blood was a contributing factor. Probably the spear in his side was a contributing factor. The beating that he took the day before he was on the cross. All of those were contributing factors, I’m sure.

But a number of years ago, I had the opportunity to hear a medical doctor describe what was really going on at the cross from a medical standpoint. And he described for us the agony that Jesus would have hanging on the cross as it—as he was, all of his weight were pulling his chest down.

And the only way he could exhale, he was like in a perpetual state of inhaling. And the only way he could exhale so he could take another breath was to push himself up on those spikes that had gone through both of his feet.

The agony that would have caused and scraping his back that had been beaten bloody and raw. Scraping that against the wooden beams of the cross. But he would push himself up and let out another breath and drop down and then push himself up again.

That’s exactly why the Romans, as an act of mercy, went around and broke the legs of the two thieves because with the broken legs, it would hasten their death. They wouldn’t be able to keep pushing anymore, and they would die sooner.

That was the normal death on the cross. But that is not how Jesus died. Number one, I say that because the scripture says he cried with a loud voice.

And if he was dying the normal death of asphyxiation or suffocation, he wouldn’t have had the wind, he wouldn’t have had the breath to cry out with a loud voice. He might have given them a dying whisper, but that’s not what he did.

The scripture says he cried with a loud voice. And he had told us himself earlier, “No one takes my life from me. I have the power to voluntarily lay it down and to take it up again.”

And so, on the cross, on that last word, “Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit,” Jesus was dismissing life. He gave life permission to leave his body. He dismissed it from his body so that we can now have eternal life because of what he did.

So, Bennett, it really is a Good Friday for us. But, Kelsey, you’re so right that it was not a Good Friday for Jesus. I’m so thankful that he paid the price willingly.

But it’s only of benefit if we receive what he suffered and died for.

Let’s pray.

Father, I thank you for all that you did. I thank you for every one of those seven words and, more importantly, the price that you paid for our sin.

And I pray for every person in this room, Lord. I pray for those of us who are believers that tonight, we could see this maybe as we’ve never seen it before. That we would recognize the awful price that you paid and we could have such gratitude, such thankfulness for what you’ve done.

But I also pray for anyone in our online family, anyone sitting in this room right now, that does not know you. I’m asking, Lord, that you would draw them by your Holy Spirit.

I pray that they could recognize you did this for them, and it’s up to them to respond in faith to receive what you’ve provided. And for that, we give you thanks.

In Jesus’ name.

As we close the service, I’m going to invite you to stand to your feet. You can take the candle in your hands. We’ve remembered what Christ has done, and I believe now it’s time for us to take a silent moment of reflection.

We think about what that means for us personally. The ushers are going to help light the candles at the end of the row. And if you could just assist the person next to you, we’re going to stand and we’re going to reflect on what this means for us.

1. "The words you spoke on the cross have significance and Power in our lives today. Help us to understand this moment even greater in Jesus name." - 45:47

2. "Even when Jesus was suffering the most, he's more concerned about other people than he is about himself. He expressed forgiveness for those who were crucifying him, he expressed Mercy for the thief who repented and he expressed concern for his mother to be cared for." - 53:06

3. "No one is beyond the reach of Prayer. It doesn't matter if you are the subject of someone's prayers or if you're the one who's been praying prayers. It's never too late and no one is ever beyond the reach of prayer." - 49:06

4. "We've remembered what Christ has done and I believe now it's time for us to take a silent moment of reflection. We think about what that means for us personally." - 01:05:30

5. "Even in his dying moments, dismiss sought forgiveness. He said Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom and that's what prompted Jesus to give that second word I assure you today you will be with me in Paradise. It was never too late to receive his Mercy." - 51:48