God’s Name is Holy

Advent Devotion on the Lord’s Prayer 

by Pastor Paul Wolff 

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Jesus said, “Pray then like this, … ‘Hallowed be Thy Name’” (Matthew 6:9)

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God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. It is a paradox, but this is how God reveals who He is.

You might sometimes hear people talk about the “names of God”. Hopefully you will never hear a Christian saying such things because the Holy Bible never speaks of the “names of God”. The Scriptures frequently speak of God’s “name” in the singular, but never in the plural. This seems peculiar because, although Scripture is clear that there is only one God, yet Jesus revealed that God is Triune: three distinct persons united in one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Even in the Old Testament, the generic word for the true God is in the plural form, as if it were to say, “gods”, yet when referring to the true God, the pronouns (and accompanying verbs) for this God are all singular – “he”, “him”, and usually “I” (generally not “we”, though Genesis 1:26 does say, “Let us make man in our image…”) which shows that God is singular and masculine.  

In the days of Moses, God told Moses His name by saying, “I am who I am.” (Exodus 3:14) At first glance, we might think this begs the question, “Then, who are you?” Yet, this does tell us a few important things about God. The true God who spoke to Moses is the God who exists (“He is”), as opposed to the false gods, who do not exist except in the perverse imaginations of their followers. This name also shows us that God is eternal and does not change. This is also why we read in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is who He is – eternally. This is why the Jews wanted to stone Jesus when He told them, “Before Abraham was, I am!” (John 8:58) They recognized that Jesus was claiming to be the eternal God who was Abraham’s God two thousand years earlier. This would have been blasphemy if it weren’t true, but it is.

The True God is the one who would live and die to redeem you from your sins and rescue you from death. This is why His name is hallowed among us.

When Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Holy Baptism He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Notice that the “Name” (singular) of God is “the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Jesus doesn’t say “names”, but “name”. This isn’t because Jesus did not know grammar. He certainly did, but was teaching us something profound about God. God may be triune, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God, not three, yet three distinct persons. It is a mystery, but this is how God reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures.  

You will never hear me speak of the “names of God” except when teaching against it, as I am doing here. Those who speak of the “names of God” are either being imprecise in their language or they are trying to give the false impression that “all religions are alike”, or that ‘all roads lead to heaven”, or some such lies that try to diminish the unique character of God. The different worldly religions cannot all be different aspects of the same religion and god because all the world religions contradict each other. Rationally we can see that they may all be false, but they cannot all be true. At most, only one may be true. Christianity is the only religion of grace where God does all the work to save sinners, and then gives forgiveness for free through faith. All the other world religions (and false teaching in Christian churches) make you save yourself or do something to aid in your salvation. Which religion do you think is true? This is why God’s name is holy, and hallowed among true believers within all Christian denominations. 

It is also easy for people to be confused about God’s Name because the Holy Bible describes God in many different ways. Each distinct “name” that the Scriptures use to describe God shows a different aspect of God’s nature or personality. They are all true descriptions of God, but each one only shows a partial picture of God’s Name. In the Old Testament God is called such things as the Lord, the Ancient of Days, the Eternal God, the Living God, the Eternal Father, and many more such things. In the New Testament God is revealed through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who also has several distinct titles. Yet we still do not say that “God has many names.” Why? Each of these names for God describe a certain aspect of His personality as He has revealed it to us. Each “name” shows us a part of who God is, but does not show us the fullness of God. It has been said that the entirety of the Holy Scriptures are an explanation of the Name of God. This is a good way to look at it. The Bible tells us who God is and what He has done to save us from our sin through the incarnation of God as a man, Jesus, and His lifetime of work to win our salvation, especially His innocent suffering and death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

“You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

In Matthew 1:20-21 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph of Nazareth in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The name, “Jesus” means “savior”, and that is His ultimate work. God’s name is truly hallowed among us because of all that God has done to save us from sin and death. God did not have to come down to earth to save us. He could have punished us as our sins deserve, and would have been justified to do so because we deserved punishment for our sins. Yet God preferred to take the hard road and sent His Son to become incarnate to redeem the world from sin through His life, death, and resurrection. 

God is both perfectly just and unfailingly merciful. These characteristics would seem to oppose each other when it comes to God wanting to save us from our sins. God’s holy desire to punish sin with death seems at conflict with His loving desire to rescue us from sin’s necessary consequence of death. Yet, in Jesus, God found a solution. God accepted Jesus as a substitute who would die for sinners and win our salvation. The Second Person of the Godhead became incarnate as a man, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life in obedience to God’s Law, which we failed to do in our sinfulness, then Jesus offered His life as the perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world. The life of Jesus is sufficient to pay for sin because His life is God’s life, and His blood is God’s blood, given and shed to redeem us all from our sins. God’s name is truly holy, because He found a way to rescue and redeem you from your sins while being perfectly just in punishing the sin of the world through the death of Jesus. In the life and death of Jesus, God found a way to be perfectly just in punishing sin, and perfectly merciful and loving in redeeming us through the sacrifice of the life of Jesus. This is why we will praise and thank God for all eternity for the Salvation He won for us sinners. 

We call the holy family “holy” not because Mary and Joseph are holy, but because Jesus is holy.

There is nothing in all the world more precious than the love of God. He has redeemed us and calls us His children, though we do not deserve it. Yet, because Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world we are happy to receive His forgiveness and salvation as a most wonderful gift, and praise God forever for His unending love. 

This Petition in the Lord’s Prayer in closely related to the Second Commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” The commandment and the petition both deal with God’s name. Because God’s Name is holy, we should use it properly and not misuse it. This is not easy to do. As time went by after God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, the Israelite people of the Old Testament put too much emphasis on God’s Law and, for fear of misusing God’s Name, they stopped using it altogether. Instead of using the Name that God gave them to use, they instead spoke the general term, “lord”, even in their worship and when reading the Bible. If God had not wanted the people to use His name, then he wouldn’t have given it to them, but God gave us His Name so that we might use it. In Psalm 50:15 God says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” It is for Bible verses like this (and many others) that Martin Luther explains this petition by saying that it is our duty to “Call upon God in every trouble, pray, praise, and give Him thanks.” 

In the Advent season we especially remember God’s name because God sent His Son to be our savior, to rescue us from sin, and to bring us back into the household of God as His beloved children – for the sake of Jesus. God’s name truly is holy, as is everything He has done to give us good gifts in this life, and for the salvation that He has prepared for us through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

Our Father in Heaven is Always Near to Us

Advent Devotion on the Lord’s Prayer 

by Pastor Paul Wolff 

Jesus said, “Pray then like this, ‘Our father, who art in heaven …’” (Matthew 6:9)

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The angel Gabriel was in heaven and on earth at the same time showing us that heaven is not far away.

We know from the Holy Bible that God resides in heaven, and that is a place which seems far away from us because it is a place which we have absolutely no way to get to on our own. Yet, God is never far away from us. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His followers, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) This is not metaphorical (or “spiritual”), but it is real. Jesus is never far away even though He is in heaven. Jesus is with us always as He has promised. Those who say otherwise are calling Jesus a liar. We cannot get to Him in heaven, but He can easily get to us because He is with us always, even when He is in God’s heavenly kingdom. 

If you read Scripture carefully you can see that heaven really is not far from us here on earth, though we cannot access it ourselves. One of the earliest examples of God being near us is found in Genesis 9:16. This happens after the great flood when God gives the rainbow as a sign of His mercy and He promises not to punish us with another great flood, though our sins deserve it and much more. God says, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” It is interesting to note that the sign of the rainbow is for God to see and remember His covenant. The sign is not only for us. Though we should note that rainbows are only visible as bows to people standing on earth. I remember sitting in an airplane flying above the clouds during the middle of the day, and looking out the window and seeing on the clouds below the shadow of the plane surrounded by a complete circular prism of light. It wasn’t a half-circle like a bow, but a full circle. For God to see something shaped like a bow, He has to be here on earth with us, not above the clouds. This is a comfort because of the promise of the rainbow – that God will not destroy us because of our disobedience and sin, but will rescue us through Jesus. 

We also see that heaven is not far from us when the angel, Gabriel visited the priest, Zechariah in Luke 1:19. The angel told Zechariah, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.” Now, Gabriel was standing in the temple in Jerusalem talking with Zechariah, but he was also, at the same time, standing in the presence of God (though Zechariah could not see God as the angel did). This is yet another example that heaven is not somewhere far away, but is very near to us, as God, who is in heaven, is very near to us. Our problem is that, as sinners, we do not have access to God, or His heaven, except through those earthly Means of Grace which God gives us to bring us a taste of heaven here on earth. Those Means of Grace are God’s Word, and the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these earthly gifts, God gives us a little bit of heaven so that we may receive the forgiveness of our sins, and be strengthened in our faith, so that we may at last receive the complete fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ – the resurrection and sanctification of our bodies, and everlasting life in God’s paradise as His Holy children who have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, our crucified savior. 

God’s merciful promise of the rainbow also shows that He is near us always as He also promised.

Those who think heaven is somewhere far away do themselves a disservice by also thinking that Jesus is far away. The world very quickly starts to feel quite threatening and dangerous if we find that we are here alone and Jesus is far away. That is why Jesus reassured His followers at His ascension that He is with us always. (see Matthew 28:20 above) We should believe Jesus even (and especially) when it seems like we are all alone and in danger from worldly and spiritual temptations and dangers. 

We all can understand why Jesus seems so far away from us. We are physical creatures, and we cannot sense God’s heavenly kingdom with our physical senses, so we can feel vulnerable and alone when temptations and dangers are near. It is in those times when we rely on faith in Jesus to give comfort and assurance. Everything in the world may tell us that the situation is hopeless, and that the “great” powers of the world are too powerful to be overcome, yet, when we trust God’s Word, we can be assured that God is in control, and “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to (Jesus)”. (Matthew 28:18) We also have the assurance that, on account of Christ, God will protect us and give us good things so that nothing can steal away our salvation. (See Romans 8:31-39) God indeed is Sovereign and powerful, but He doesn’t use His power to force us to serve Him. God gave us His Son, Jesus, to win our salvation through His life and death, and then God gives us His Word to tell us all He has done to save us so that we might believe. Through this faith (i.e. believing God’s Word) and Holy Baptism, God adopts us as His beloved, redeemed, children. 

Since God now considers us as His children, He will not abandon us to sin, nor to our enemies in this world, nor to our enemies in the spiritual world. We cannot fully access the heavenly realm as sinners in a sinful world, but we don’t have to. We have God’s Word and His assurance that He is near and that He is in control – despite all evidence that we are alone and in danger. Christians need to believe God’s Word and trust in Him to protect us when in danger, and to rescue us from all sin and death as necessary. God keeps His promises and is unfailingly trustworthy.

God is Our Father

Advent Devotion on the Lord’s Prayer
by Pastor Paul Wolff

Jesus said, “Pray then like this, ‘Our father, who art in heaven …’”

Matthew 6:9

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Jesus prayed to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. He also invites us to pray to God as our Father.

God can be considered our Father because He is the one who created us all. Yet we have orphaned ourselves through our sin. It is not that we have killed our father, but rather, through our sin, we have killed ourselves and rebelled against our good and gracious heavenly Father. Yet, when Jesus teaches His disciples (and us) how to pray, He begins the prayer by teaching us to pray to God as “Our Father, who art in heaven.” This is a gracious invitation that Jesus would consider us His brothers and sisters that we could once again call God our Father. We can only do this due to the redemption that Jesus won for us by His perfect obedient life, and His innocent suffering and death. Since, because of our sin, we all have imperfect examples of what a Father ought to be, we may begin by asking, “What kind of a father is God?”

Several years ago there was a billboard campaign which purported to be some kind of messages from God. These billboards were likely well-intentioned, but were ultimately blasphemous. They showed a black billboard with white lettering ending in the simple tag, “– God” as if to imply that these messages came from God. It was blasphemous because none of the pithy sayings were quotes from Holy Scripture nor otherwise from God. All these messages only contained Law and no Gospel, and many of them contradicted clear teachings of God’s word. Nevertheless, they were sort of amusing in a superficial (though blasphemous) way. One that caught my attention said, “Don’t make me come down there. – God” as if God were a parent warning His disobedient children with vain threats. We should be aware, however, that God is not the kind of father who makes vain threats. When God makes threats they are real, and should be taken seriously, though God also provides rescue from sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe – which is why we take the time to celebrate His first Advent, and look forward to His second coming also. 

I don’t know exactly what the billboard writers had in mind because they were a little late with their warning that if we disobey God we might make Him come down here to punish us. The first people God created (Adam and Eve) long ago let that cat out of the bag. Because Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought sin into the world, God DID come down here. Fortunately, when God came down here He didn’t bring about the punishment the billboard sponsors were insinuating. When God came down here He didn’t come to judge and condemn us. Instead God the Father sent His only begotten Son down to rescue and redeem us from our sinfulness. This is the Gospel message. It is also one reason why the church where I am the assistant Pastor is named Emmanuel – God is here with us always for our forgiveness and salvation. The mere presence of God may not be such a happy occasion, unless God comes to rescue and redeem, and He does. 

We can always turn to God as our beloved Father just as the prodigal son was happily received by his forgiving father.

The incarnation of God as a man is the central event in all of human history. That is why we count our years from the date of Christ’s birth (or as close as could be determined at the time, though that is a story for another time). God knew before He made people that we would rebel against Him and we would be lost unless He did something to save us. Yet, He went ahead and created the people who would reject His authority and cause Him immense grief and suffering. Why would anyone do that? Only love could cause someone to go through that kind of suffering rather than avoid it. Saint Paul explained this to the Romans, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8) Christ’s sacrifice for our benefit is the very definition of God’s perfect love. That is why we celebrate Advent every year. All who believe in Christ as our savior rejoice at God’s coming to us to rescue and redeem us from our sins.

All man-made gods require something from their followers to prove that they are worthy of favor. This makes these false gods seem very demanding, but it also makes them seem able to be manipulated by the actions of people. This is why false gods are so attractive to people. Though the false gods can be harsh taskmasters, those who create false gods also make it seem to the people as if they can control their pretend gods. If you can control God, then you are lord over Him and you are, in effect, your own god. It isn’t real, but is just as pretend as the false gods, but ever since the first temptation where Adam and Eve fell into sin, people have been trying to become like a god and make our own rules. This is part of our continuing rebellion against God, our Father, and why we need to repent of our sins and ask God our Father to forgive our sins for the sake of Jesus.

The true God is not like the false gods. Jesus didn’t come to us to demand anything from us. There is nothing we can give God that doesn’t already belong to Him. We can’t make up for our sinful rebelliousness. Jesus didn’t come to take anything from us. He came to give. Jesus came to live the obedient human life that none of us are capable of doing. Jesus perfectly pleased God the Father with His obedient life, and then He offered His life in place of ours on the cross. Because of what Jesus did on the cross (and throughout His whole life) we are saved from our sins. All who trust in the forgiveness that Jesus won for us will be rescued from death and blessed with eternal life in paradise. This is why we can confidently pray to God as our Father and why we celebrate the Advent (“coming”) of Jesus and look forward with eager expectation to His Second Advent on the last day.

Father Forgive Them

First in a series on the seven last words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with (Jesus). And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”
(Luke 23:32-34)

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Christ’s first words when He was lifted up on the cross were “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Crucifixion in the Roman Empire was a public spectacle. The victims were meant to serve as a warning to others not to do as they had done, lest you suffer the same fate. It was not only meant as a means of carrying out the death penalty, but it was also meant to shame and torture the victims in the worst possible way. The humane way of execution was beheading – like the execution of John the Baptist. That was quick, with a minimum of suffering, and out of the public eye.

Victims of crucifixion had much to say while they were dying. But you wouldn’t allow your children near a crucifixion unless you were forced. Likely most of what the crucified had to say is not worth repeating in polite company. The statements of those who were crucified consisted almost entirely of curses and foul language. You would certainly never hear a crucified man blessing those who were killing him.

Yet here is Jesus, stripped naked, beaten and bloodied, wearing a crown of thorns on His head, nailed to a cross; and what is the first thing He says when He is lifted up? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” I can confidently say that no one who was there at Golgotha that day had ever heard anything like it. Who was this man?

The sign over his head read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. Yet, Herod Antipas was King over Judea, not this man. This man was the son of a carpenter from Nazareth. Neither He, nor His father, was royalty, much less a king. At least one person there at Golgotha knew that Joseph of Nazareth was a descendant of King David, but that didn’t make him royalty. There hadn’t been a Davidic King over Judah in hundreds of years, and even in the days of Jesus, most Jews had likely had an ancestor who was a descendant of King David, so that wasn’t anything special. Yet this man, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth, was the true King of the Jews.

The true King of the Jews, and all Israel, had always been God. It really didn’t matter that Jesus was a descendant of King David, except that God had promised David that his descendant would reign on his throne forever. What really mattered was that this man was the only-begotten Son of God. That is what made Jesus the King of the Jews. This is why we hold to the truth of the miraculous conception of Jesus. His mother, Mary, was, and remained, a virgin until the time when Jesus was born. His Father was God, and Jesus, Himself, though incarnate as a man, was likewise the same God with the Father, and the Holy Spirit – three persons yet one and the same God.

So since Jesus is God in the flesh, what was He doing there hanging naked and nailed to a cross? The answer is in the first words that Jesus says after he was lifted up: “Father, forgive them.” It was as if Jesus could hardly wait to ask God, the Father, to forgive sinners. That is what Jesus was doing there on the cross. It is the same thing that He was working toward His whole life as a man. Jesus was there to forgive. Jesus is still here to forgive, but He is only here today to forgive you because of what He did then and there on the cross.

Remember this when someone says that Christianity isn’t all about the forgiveness of sins, but about loving your neighbor, or some other works-righteousness where you must save yourself. The eternal God did not become incarnate as a man and then suffer and die on the cross so that you would have to try to save yourself. God became incarnate so that He would save you.

Jesus did not have to go to the cross for Himself – He went to the cross for you! For His sake, Jesus should not have been there on the cross. It should have been you, dying for your own sins. Jesus was without sin His entire life. He was completely innocent before God and before man. The charges that men contrived to put Him on a cross were all lies. Governor Pilate knew they were wicked lies, but the wicked leaders of the Jews threatened to start riots which would threaten the livelihood and life of Pilate. Pilate wanted to do what was just and right, but if this man Jesus would not speak up to defend Himself, then Pilate could only go so far. It would do no good for Pilate to die for Jesus at this time, but it would accomplish much good for Jesus to die for Pilate, and the Jews, and the Gentiles, and all who would ever live on the earth.

It is a strange thing that the King of the Jews would die for His people. It is even more strange that the Almighty God incarnate would die for the sins of His people. God is a just God who is holy, and must punish sin, but God is also a merciful God who forgives sin. God could not punish us sinners for our sins without destroying us, so He paid the price Himself.

Jesus didn’t just say, “Father forgive them.” Jesus was there on the cross paying the price for the sins of the whole world so that your sins would be atoned for. What does forgiveness look like? It looks like God as a man beaten and naked nailed to a cross wearing a crown of thorns. There is your forgiveness and your salvation. Behold the man. Behold your forgiveness.

Forgiveness is what Jesus was there for. Forgiveness what Jesus is here for today, too! Jesus is here in His word and sacraments to forgive you and save you from your sins. 

No wonder the Centurion looked on Jesus after He died and said, “Truly, this man was the son of God.” (Mark 15:39)

 

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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Today You Will be With Me in Paradise

Second in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at (Jesus), saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:39-43)

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One of the criminals … said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

There is a sarcastic saying which says, “No one is useless. You can always serve as a bad example.” In the ancient Roman empire crucifixion was the ultimate expression of this adage. “Don’t be like this guy, or else you will suffer the same humiliation and torture as him.”

The two men who were crucified along with Jesus were just such people. They were the dregs of society. Roman society had no more use for them, except to use them as a lesson for others. Jesus did not look at them that way. When Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them …” He wasn’t only talking about those who were crucifying Him, and those who conspired for his death. Jesus was praying for the forgiveness of all sinners, including those two who were crucified along with Him.

One of the criminals next to Jesus mocked Him saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself, and us!” This taunt sounds like Satan’s temptations of Jesus. “If you are the Christ … If you are the Son of God …” He said this as if he expected Jesus to do what he thought the Christ should do, instead of what God sent Him to do. “Save us!” he said. For what did he want to be saved? Did he want his sinful life restored so he could continue to lie, cheat, steal, and murder? That is not salvation.

The other criminal saw his situation, and he probably heard Jesus praying for his forgiveness, and he repented. He wanted the peace that would lead a crucified man to pray for his tormentors. Such a thing did not happen often, if ever. First, he called his friend to repentance as he confessed the guilt of his sins. “Don’t you fear God? … Our punishment is just, for we are getting what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” The Second use of God’s Law is to show us our sin. The repentant thief recognized his sin and confessed it. The wages of sin is death. All sinners deserve to die for their sins. All sinners deserve to be there dying on the cross. The one man who did not deserve to die was Jesus. Yet there He was dying for sinners.

Then the repentant thief looked to Jesus to save Him. “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom.” Truly this is a great example that faith is a miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was being crucified just as the thieves were. Jesus had the power and authority as the Son of God to avoid death, but He didn’t use that power to save Himself. Jesus would die like a man to rescue mankind from sin and death. “Jesus, King of Israel, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”

Jesus did not laugh at the condemned criminal. He did not treat him like an irredeemable piece of worthless human trash – as the world considered him. Jesus saw him as a beloved child of God – the likes of which Jesus had come to save. Jesus once taught, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) Jesus rejoiced to save this lost sinner. Jesus came to save sinners. Here was one looking to Him for salvation. This man was lost, and now he was found. Jesus was not so preoccupied with his own suffering, but He gave comfort to the repentant thief. “Truly, today you will be with me in paradise.”

“Today!” There is no waiting for salvation. There is no purgatory to add to the suffering of life after death. “Today you will be with me in Paradise!” As a sinner, this thief was an enemy of God by nature, but, through faith, Jesus adopted him as his beloved child, and would share with him the inheritance of his heavenly kingdom that very day. What a joy it is to be rescued from sin and death by Jesus. It is sad that this former thief did not have the comfort of salvation earlier in his life. He was late to the party, but not too late, and better late than never.

The salvation of the repentant thief is another example of how salvation is free through faith in Jesus. This man did nothing to save himself. He was dead to the world in the last hours of his life. Yet, Jesus suffered and died to redeem him of his sin. This man’s sin only brought him trouble and hardship in life and directly led to his early death. Yet, the Holy Spirit gave him faith in Jesus and led him to repent of his sin and receive the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus won for him as He died on the cross next to him.

The world has nearly as little use for Jesus as it did for the two thieves crucified on either side of him, and the world tries to get rid of Jesus, even to this day. They do this to sin more – thinking that to sin freely is freedom. Yet, “everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) But “if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” (John 8:36) Jesus forgave the repentant man condemned by the world. The world had told him how fun it was to lie, cheat, steal, and murder, then condemned him to death for learning his lesson too well. He still had to die for his crimes, but as a forgiven child of God, heaven was opened to him to live forever in paradise.

Jesus was not ashamed to suffer and die for people such as this poor thief. If Jesus could rescue him from sin and death and give him salvation that very day, then Jesus can also take joy in rescuing you from your sin and death. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” The repentant thief looked to Jesus and found salvation. Today salvation is yours through faith in Christ who rescues sinners from death to give them eternal life in Paradise.

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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Woman behold your son…. Son, behold your mother.

Third in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff 

 

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:25-27)

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Jesus said, to Mary and John “Woman, behold your son.” “Son, behold your mother.”

The work of Jesus to win salvation and pay for the sins of the world wasn’t done in a day. Good Friday was the most important day, but it was the completion of a lifetime of work. Jesus lived about 12,000 days from His birth to His death, and every day was a test. Would He love the Lord God with all His heart, mind, soul, and strength – even when it was the Lord’s will that He endure God’s wrath for sinners? Would He love His neighbor as Himself – even when those people sinned against Him, and hated Him and plotted to kill Him and took great satisfaction in doing so? If Jesus had failed just once in 12,000 days it would be all over, and our hope for salvation would have been lost.

As we consider the work of God for our salvation we ought to think about the work of Jesus in two aspects: active and passive obedience to God. The passive obedience of Christ was that He let sinners falsely accuse Him of sin and hang Him on a cross to die, and He also passively endured God’s wrath over the sins of the world, so that He could take the punishment meant for sinners, and rescue them from the righteous wrath of God. This is what Jesus was doing hanging on the cross, but His work of active obedience was not done.

The active obedience of Christ was that He actively obeyed all the commandments of God. In all of His 12,000 days, Jesus always did the good things that He ought to have done, and He never did any of the evil things that were forbidden by God’s commandments. This had to be done for our salvation so that Jesus could be the perfect obedient man who obeyed all God’s commandments, and the perfect unblemished sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. The Active obedience of Christ is why God said of Him, “This is my beloved son. In Him I am well pleased.” 

In this third word that Jesus gives from the cross we see again that He is still thinking of others, and not himself. Jesus sees His mother, and the disciple who is not named in John’s Gospel, which is John himself. By saying to Mary, “Woman, behold your son” and to John, “Behold, your mother” Jesus is telling Mary to consider John to be her son and He is telling John to consider Mary to be his mother. In doing this, Jesus is keeping the Fourth Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.”

Jesus was honoring His mother by seeing that she was provided for in her old age. Assuming Mary was in her early to middle twenties when Jesus was born, she would have been in her middle to late fifties when Jesus was crucified, and could have lived many more years before her death. Jesus would not be around bodily to take care of her, and none of her other children were there with her at the cross of Christ, but John was there. It was the duty of the children to take care of their parents in their old age. As the firstborn son, Jesus was most responsible to take care of His mother. However, that was not His calling. Just as He was not called to take a wife and raise a family, so He would not live to see His mother grow old before He died. Jesus could have left the care of His mother to His brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, but where were they? They were not there at the cross with Mary. Likewise, none of Jesus’ disciples were there except John. Jesus had the responsibility to see that Mary not only was provided with material needs, but also Spiritual needs. John could be considered the most faithful of the disciples.

John had run away with all the other disciples when Jesus was arrested, as Jesus had told them beforehand that this would happen, quoting Zechariah 13:7 saying, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” John did enter into the house of the High Priest with Peter during the trial of Jesus, yet John did not deny Jesus as Peter did. John also was there at Golgotha to witness the death of Jesus. So Jesus knew He could trust John to provide for Mary’s needs of body and soul as she grew older and moved toward her death. 

Mary’s needs were not only physical, because although she had remained faithful while Jesus was with her, the evil one would surely still try to lure her away from her salvation, and get her to deny that she needed the forgiveness of Jesus to save her from her sins. John would be her pastor to call Mary to repentance when necessary, and to frequently assure her of the redemption and forgiveness of Jesus so that she would remain faithful to her end trusting in Him to save her.

Jesus was also changing His relationship as son with Mary for a couple other reasons. Jesus was the one chosen by the Father to suffer and die for the sins of the world. Jesus had to do this alone. He could not share His suffering with anyone else, especially a sinner. He had to endure the full wrath of God for all the sins of the world, so that we would be rescued from all our sin. Mary surely mourned that the son she bore and gave birth to was the one chosen by God to suffer for the sins of the world, but nothing that Mary suffered had any effect for the salvation of anyone, including herself. Mary could be comforted by the Apostle John, whom Jesus gave to be her adopted son.

These words of Jesus also point out the false teaching of those who pray to Mary in heaven because they reason that Mary’s Son must listen to His mother and obey her. The resurrected Jesus is exalted as King of kings and Lord of lords, and that includes His mother. Jesus is not obligated to obey His mother, or anyone except God the Father and the Holy Spirit, though He is in perfect agreement and unity with God in all things. Mary’s role in our salvation is nothing more than we confess in the creed. She was the faithful virgin who believed God’s Word when the angel spoke it to her, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God was miraculously conceived in her and she gave birth to Him so that He could live and die as a man to redeem all mankind from our sins.

Jesus was honoring His Father by remaining obedient to God, the Father, and offering His life as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, but He does not do this at the expense of His mother. Jesus was again thinking of others while He was suffering and dying on the cross. He did not want to lose His mother, just as He did not want to lose even the thief who was crucified alongside of Him (see the previous word from Jesus on the cross).

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me

Fourth in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” (Matthew 27:45-49)

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Eve was ashamed of her sin and afraid of God, but God did not forsake her nor her husband.

In Genesis 3, immediately after Adam and Eve sinned against God’s simple command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Moses describes Adam and Eve being frightened by the “sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” Of course they were afraid because they had condemned themselves to death for their rebellion against God, but from Moses’ description of God “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” I have long imagined that God’s visits to His beloved children were frequent. Not just in the morning, but several times a day, until the day when everything changed.

God delighted in His children, and they delighted in their Father. That all changed when the man and woman rebelled against God by disobeying His command. Adam and Eve were now afraid of their loving Father and ran away from Him, afraid of the curse of death. They felt like they had to hide from God in order to live. They were wrong, of course. God loved them dearly, and He showed great mercy to them, as He does to you, too, but God also hid a part of Himself from them after they became sinners. Scripture tells us that no sinner can see God’s glory and live. So God hid the greater part of His glory so that He could confront His children with their sin, and also reaffirm His love for them by promising to send a Messiah who would rescue them from their sin and make everything good again.

Before Adam and Eve sinned against God they could see God in His unfiltered glory. God had made them in His image and they were holy and pure and had nothing to be ashamed about. All that changed when they became sinners. God did not forsake them, but their relationship had changed. They were no longer like God, but now they were something quite different. They were dirty, corrupted, and unclean. They were no longer such close friends and family with God, but they were suddenly strangers, alien to God’s holy nature, and in sin they had become enemies of God, as we all are according to our corrupted sinful nature.

Jesus had no corrupted nature because He is God in the flesh. Jesus had nothing to be ashamed of before God or before man. Yet, Jesus also hid His divine glory. This was for our sake, and so He could live a normal life as a man. Sinful people had no fear of Jesus, and treated Him like any other man, both good and bad. Throughout His whole life, sinners sinned against Jesus without thinking that He was the almighty, righteous judge who could send them to everlasting torment as sinners deserve. Even before the Pharisees and Pontius Pilate conspired to crucify, Jesus surely endured much mistreatment at the hands of sinners, as we all do, and, yet, Jesus still willingly went to the cross to suffer and die for all sinners, including those who treated Him the worst.

That is why Jesus was there, nailed to a cross. That is why Jesus was forsaken by God the Father – and He was truly forsaken by the father in a way that you have never been, and I pray that you never will be. The Father turned away from the Son and poured out all His wrath upon Him for all the sins of all people of all time. This had never happened in all eternity. The eternal Son of God had only known the perfect divine love of the Father and the Holy Spirit in eternity, but Jesus had carried in His body the guilt of the sins of the world so that He could suffer and die and take our guilt to the grave where it would remain even after Jesus rose victorious three days later. Christ’s journey to the cross began at His incarnation when He was conceived as the son of the Virgin Mary, but Jesus affirmed that He would fulfill the Father’s will when He was baptized by John in the Jordan River.

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, … “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

John was baptizing repentant sinners, and was surprised when the Christ, Himself, asked to be baptized, too. Jesus told John, “Let us do this to fulfill all righteousness.” It is right that God would punish sinners for their sin, but God accepted a sinless substitute to redeem sinners. In the Old Testament church, they offered lambs as a substitute to die for their sins, but not even all the lambs in the world would pay for the sins of one person. Jesus is the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The incarnate Son of God could pay the price to redeem the whole world from sin and death. This is why after Jesus was anointed in the Jordan river with the Baptism of sinners, the voice of God the Father was heard proclaiming, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Father was pleased not only because His Son had perfectly obeyed God’s commandments every day for about 30 years, but because the Son was also taking the guilt of sinners into His body so that He could pay the price to redeem sinners so He could restore us and glorify us to be the holy people God intended us to be from the beginning.

Jesus endured God’s wrath over sin as He hung there on the cross. He felt the sting of sin like no one on earth has ever felt. The Father treated Jesus like the worst sinner in the world – like the only sinner in the world. All His wrath was poured out on Jesus, so there would be no anger left for you, and you would be forgiven. Jesus endured God’s wrath, and never lost His love for the Father, or for you. Yet, in the depth of His torment He had to cry out, “My God, why have You forsaken me?” He truly suffered the wrath of God over the sin of the world, yet, God was still His God, and if it was the Father’s will for Him to suffer and die, then He would endure it to the end and die trusting that God’s will is best even if it meant that He would suffer hell all alone on the cross and then die. As a man, Jesus had to live by faith, trusting God’s word in the Scriptures that this pleased the Father, and that God would make everything work out for the best – for Jesus Himself, and for all the rest of us, who benefit from the suffering and death of Jesus. He was forsaken by the Father, so you will never have to go through the hell that Jesus endured.

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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I Thirst

Fifth in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. (John 19:28-29)

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Water is necessary to sustain life. If you do not drink enough water you will die. Even ancient peoples knew this. When the Israelites were on their Exodus from Egypt God tested them by leading them into the wilderness where there was no water. They failed the test. Instead of trusting that God would provide them with water, or even asking God to provide drinking water, they only complained to Moses and accused him of leading them out into the desert to die of thirst. How easy it is to forget God in times of need!

God knows that water is necessary for us because that is how He made us. Food and water are part of the “Daily Bread” which we ask God to provide when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and which God graciously provides to all people, even unbelievers, without our asking for it, though we pray for it so that we may receive all that we need in thanksgiving and praise to God who freely provides all that we need to sustain body and life.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 25:21-22, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” The Roman soldiers who were in charge of crucifying Jesus did not know, nor care about, the proverbs of Solomon. When Jesus expressed His thirst they did not give Him water, but gave him vinegar. Jesus had already been beaten and whipped, and if a little vinegar caused pain in an open wound, then the soldiers wouldn’t be sad to add to the suffering of the condemned man. They weren’t seeking rewards from God, only what rewards they could get in the world.

In Psalm 69:21, David prophesied, “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” The thirst of Jesus not only fulfilled this prophesy of David, but it also shows that Jesus is a real man. Jesus had real bodily needs like any other man. He hungered when He fasted. He got tired and needed sleep when He worked too long and too hard. He wept when visiting the grave of a friend who had died. He suffered when beaten and crucified, and He was thirsty as He was dying on the cross. It is important for our faith and our salvation that Jesus was (and is now, and will be forever) a man, just like us in every way, except sin.

Scripture says, “The soul that sins must die.” (Ezekiel 18:4 and 20) It was human souls who sinned against God and brought condemnation on the whole human race. Either we must all die for our sins, or we must be redeemed by another human soul. Jesus is the only human soul who has never been corrupted by sin. Yet, Jesus lived a regular life. Jesus was born as a baby. He grew up. He learned the Bible from His parents and teachers. He learned a trade. He was tempted to sin by the devil and by men. He lost friends and family to death. He suffered the indignities of living under the rule of tyrants who overtaxed Him and made themselves rich while stealing from the people. Jesus also suffered and died. When you pray to Jesus and find yourself in need in this world, you can know that Jesus understands what you are going through because He has been through similar things Himself as a man. Trust in Jesus. He will not let the troubles of life overwhelm you and lead you to your destruction. Jesus lived and died to rescue you from sin, death, and the devil. Jesus suffered the wrath of God, and the sorrows of life in a sinful world so that you could be rescued from such sorrows for all eternity. This is especially important when you approach your last hour of life in this sinful world. Jesus has been there, too. When that hour comes you will have to let go of everything in this world and trust in Jesus alone to rescue you from the grave.

The prophet, Jeremiah wrote (17:13-14), “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. That Word is a living water welling up within God’s people for eternal life. Jesus suffered and died to give you comfort and life. Jesus suffered thirst to give you the living water as an ever flowing stream of eternal life.

When the Israelites were thirsty in the wilderness they failed the test, and lost faith in God. Jesus was not only thirsty, but endured the anger and wrath of God, the Father, over the sins of the world, and He endured it all and never lost His love and faith in God. Even though it was the Father’s will to put Jesus through hell, Jesus continued to love the father and trust that this was all for the best.

The thirst of Jesus shows us that He is a real man. Another aspect of Christ’s humanity, is that when He spoke these words He knew His physical strength was failing, and He did not have long to live. His mouth and throat was dry, and He had a couple short words to speak, and He did not want to be misunderstood. From a human perspective, Jesus was preparing to speak His final words as a mortal man before He died, and He was willing to drink vinegar to moisten His tongue so that He could still speak clearly. Listen carefully to these next two words from Jesus. They are important for your faith and for your salvation.

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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It is finished

Sixth in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

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When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Just before Jesus spoke this word, He was given a sour drink of vinegar. He could feel His life was slipping away, and He would soon die unless He performed some miracle to escape death. Jesus had walked away from those intent on murdering Him several times before throughout His life when it was not His time to die. Those were times when He yet had work to do, but now His work was done, and this was His time to die. He could not miraculously save Himself and still save sinners from the punishment for their sin. So, once again, Jesus submitted Himself to the will of the Father and would soon die. But He still had a couple more words to say before He died, so He drank the vinegar, gathered up what little strength He had left in His body, and spoke His final words.

“It is finished.” was Christ’s second to last word on the cross, and in Greek it literally is just one word. Yet, it is a very important word for your comfort, and for the assurance of your salvation. 

What is finished? Christ’s suffering was nearly at an end, but Jesus was not just notifying us that His suffering was at its end, as if to say, “I’m glad that’s over. I can’t take any more of that.” Neither was this word a word of surrender or defeat. Jesus was not giving up on His work for the salvation of sinners. This was a word of victory. Though it is a strange victory because it only came with His death. Jesus was suffering to pay for the sins of the world. He had to endure it all so that God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus so that He suffered it all, and none was left for you. In this sense, “It is finished,” means your redemption is completed or fulfilled. Jesus paid the full price for your sins and finished it all. The victory that Jesus won with His suffering and death is your victory because He died to save you. There is nothing left for you to do except to receive it thankfully as a gift.

Jesus came to fulfill God’s Law through a perfectly obedient life as a man, and He had done so marvelously. Jesus had also come to offer His perfect life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus was to be the perfect substitute, who offered His life in exchange for the lives of all sinful people of all time. As Jesus hung there dying on the cross, His work for the salvation of the world was coming to its completion. When Jesus said, “It is finished” He was proclaiming that His work of salvation was completed, or it would be completed very soon with His imminent death. Jesus would not turn away from God’s will at the last moment, but would see it through to the end, trusting that God’s will is always best. 

How many people have lived in terror of God’s judgment, thinking they had to atone for their own sins, or appease God by their works, or sacrifice, or their own suffering? The comfort we receive from this one word, “It is finished,” is nearly incalculable. I would say it was priceless, but we know the price. It is a price more valuable than all the riches in the whole world. The cost of our redemption is the lifeblood of God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ. It is finished. You can’t even offer God something to pay for your own salvation. First, because everything you have is already a gift given to you by God, already, so anything you try to give God already belongs to Him. And more importantly, to try to buy your salvation by any other means only shows that you despise what God’s beloved Son has done to save you. Neither the Father, nor Jesus will appreciate that. The only begotten son of God shed His blood for you to pay for your redemption. What could you give God that is worth more than that? The Father is well pleased with what the Son has done, because He paid the price for your sins in full. Jesus gets all the glory and praise forever because He has won for God a people of His creation, perfect and holy, washed clean of their sins by the blood of Jesus. 

Not everything is finished, however. The reign of sin and death is over, but God’s love for you is not finished. In fact, with the death of Jesus, God’s love for you is fulfilled, and it is eternal. Christ’s love for the Father is also not finished. Jesus fulfilled the First Commandment with His steadfast faith and love for God despite the suffering and torment He endured for the sins of the world. It was because Jesus loved God with His whole heart, and soul, and strength that He was willing to suffer and die to rescue sinners from the death that our sins deserved. 

Because Jesus remained faithful to the end, your life is also not finished, either. Your sinful life must come to an end, of course, but through faith in Christ your Sanctified life as God’s child will not end when your corrupted, sinful flesh fails you and you die. As Jesus rose victorious from the grave on the third day after He died and was buried, you, too, will rise from the grave on the last day when Jesus returns in judgment. On that day, Jesus will gather all who belong to Him through faith, and glorify them and take them to live with Him forever in glory in a new heaven and earth – a re-made paradise. 

Whenever you are tempted to self-righteousness, remember that Jesus is your righteousness. He won it all for you through His life and death. It is finished. When you are tempted to despair because of the guilt of your sin, remember that Jesus won complete forgiveness for you. It is finished. When you approach your final hour in this sinful world you can rest in peace knowing that in Jesus Christ you have a savior from sin and death.

When Jesus spoke these words, there was one thing yet to be completed. Jesus could not have come down from the cross without dying. Yet in this word, Jesus proclaimed His victory which would come immediately after His next, and final, word on the cross.

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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Father, into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit.

Seventh in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff 

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:44-46)

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Christ’s last words before He died were “Father into Your hands I commit my Spirit”

How much would you trust someone who wanted you dead? I suspect you wouldn’t trust such a person very much. What if it was God who wanted you dead? Would you trust Him? The more you live according to the flesh, the less you trust God. Jesus has flesh like you and me, except without the corruption of sin. Jesus felt sad and hurt when people sinned against Him, and when they betrayed Him, and abandoned Him, and conspired against Him, and when they crucified Him. Even though sinners wanted Jesus dead, He did not curse them, but blessed them. Jesus gave all He had to save sinners, though sinners despise Him.

Sinful people weren’t alone in wanting Jesus dead. God the Father also wanted Jesus dead. It wasn’t for hatred or anger or the punishment for any sin that God wanted Jesus dead. Jesus was without guilt for any sin, because He committed no sin – neither in thought, nor word, nor deed. God had twice proclaimed of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased.” Yet, Jesus carried in His body the guilt of the sins of the whole world. At His Baptism, Jesus had agreed to be the scapegoat and the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world, and for this God wanted Him dead. It was not out of anger that God wanted Jesus dead, but out of love – both from the Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit). Because Jesus was carrying out the Father’s will and bearing the sins of the world to redeem us all from our sins, this was another reason why God the Father was well pleased with His beloved Son.

Yet, God wanted Jesus dead. If you thought God wanted you dead, would you still trust God? Would you still love God? Jesus did, and still does. Remember that both His first and last words on the cross were prayers to His beloved Father. “Father, forgive them” and “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” These prayers were prayed by a faithful Son who loved His good and gracious Father, even when it felt like God was His enemy.

Remember that by the time Jesus spoke these words He had been through hell – literally. He had endured the full wrath and anger of God the Father over the sins of the world. He had suffered God’s wrath, and it was finished. All that remained was for Him to die. Despite all that He endured, Jesus still had not lost His love for the Father, or for you. Jesus was quoting Psalm 31 which says, “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” (Psalm 31:1-5) Jesus was completely trusting in God to rescue Him from death, even after the Father had forsaken Him and poured out His wrath on Him for the world’s sin. Jesus had no assurance as a man that God would restore Him to life, except what was written in the Holy Scriptures. That was more than enough.

Jesus had known that it was the Father’s Will for Him to die at least since He was twelve years old and was learning from the teachers in the temple in Jerusalem. Though the Gospel of Luke does not tell us what they talked about, it was likely they talked about the Passover, since they were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Jesus likely was interested in the sacrificial lamb of the Passover meal, and what that had to do with God’s salvation and the messiah. He would have learned that the Passover lamb was slain in place of the firstborn. The lamb died, so that the firstborn son would live. If the teachers didn’t mention it, Jesus might have asked if the messiah would be like the Passover lamb. The answer is found in Isaiah 53: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:6-7)

Jesus was not afraid to entrust His life into the hands of God, even though God was punishing Him for the sins of the world. He knew from Scripture that God would rescue Him from death.

Jesus knew that as the Christ, His life would be like that sacrificial lamb, to suffer and die to take God’s punishment for the sins of the world. This would rescue and redeem people from their sins. This was God’s Will, so Jesus was willing to do this to please God, His Father. Jesus could also take comfort in other Scripture passages such as 2 Samuel 7:13-14 where God said to King David, “I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son.” If the Christ would reign as King forever, He would have to live, even if He would die. As a man, Jesus did not use His Divine Omniscience to know the mind of God. Jesus had to trust the Word of God in the Holy Bible just as you and I do. And yet, as Job observed when he suffered, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10) Jesus accepted and endured the wrath of God because it was His beloved Father’s Will. He trusted that God intended it for good because God is good, and Jesus loved God the Father with all His heart, and with all His soul, and with all His strength, (see Deuteronomy 6:5) and He loved His neighbor as Himself (see Leviticus 19:18).

Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” How do you know God will deliver you? Jesus was there dying on the cross to deliver you from your sins. He will never let you fall. These final words of Jesus on the cross are a prayer that every Christian can – and should – pray as you contemplate your own final hour and death. Your spirit can be in no better place than in the hands of God. It is true, though, that you have no more assurance that God will rescue you from death, than the promises that God has given you in Holy Scripture. These promises were more than enough for Jesus, and they are also more than enough for you. God’s word is eternal, and He keeps His promises. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Luke 21:33) God’s word is more sure than the ground you stand on.

Jesus also promised, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Since God gave the One whom He loved so dearly to save you, you can believe that God will never leave you nor forsake you (see Joshua 1:5) and will rescue you from sin and death. “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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