While being crucified, Jesus spoke the extraordinary words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” These words reveal the staggering extent of divine forgiveness—even toward those actively causing His suffering. This pattern of forgiveness becomes our model as we’re called to forgive others as we have been forgiven. The cross demonstrates that genuine forgiveness is costly, requiring surrender of our rights to retaliation. If we fail to forgive others after receiving such amazing forgiveness ourselves, we become like the unforgiving servant who was forgiven an enormous debt yet refused to forgive a small one. Christ’s willingness to forgive from the cross becomes the pattern for our faith.

Automatically Generated Transcript

[00:00:00] We’re talking about the seven sayings of Christ on the cross and over these next four weeks that I’m here we will talk about them. My son pointed out to me he has his wife’s, sorry, his wife doesn’t have them, we complain about them, me and his wife. We don’t have what my wife has which is severe intelligence and skills to do mathematics and my son pointed out to me as we were talking this afternoon about the seven sayings of the cross that I’m here and I’ve only got four Sunday nights so seven and four don’t go and so we are in huge trouble I don’t know how to solve that problem yet we will work it out as the weeks progress. We are, by the way, if you’re interested we’re in the Bible app and you can follow along if you use the U-Version Bible app it’s free heaps of Bible

[00:01:07] versions free you can use the texts in the pew in front of you if you like but you can also find stuff there or you can go to that link and big news you be able to get the powerpoint for tonight on there. Alright, here we go. I’m going to do a short reading. Do I have it there? I don’t even have it on here. Oh look, we have sheft badly. Let me read to you John chapter 19 verses 26 to 30. It goes like this. Jesus, by the way, is hanging on the cross at this point. The disciple took her to his own home. Unless you put the stuff on a stick. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit, which means he died.

[00:03:10] Let me pray and we shall talk. Lord Jesus, may it be that the reality of what was happening when you said these things would be real to us. May we get to know you better because we understand more fully what you did for us. Lord, I pray in Jesus name. Amen. I know you can’t have one without the other, but in my mind Easter is more significant than Christmas. The apostles changed the world with a message about Jesus’s death and resurrection. We call it the gospel. It’s the message of the first Easter. It turned the world upside down off the lips of the apostles. And for some two thousand years, it has been changing lives. The great message of Jesus’s death and resurrection has tipped this world on its head.

[00:04:39] And it’s my prayer that looking at these events again, both in the morning and here at night, that this same message will transform us, not only save us, but bring a fresh movement of God’s spirit that will revive us again to live in the light of this great message. When Jesus was dying on the cross, he said seven things. And I want to remind you that it is a little bit obvious. But we don’t know of any other way of finding out what was happening to Jesus than by looking at these words. These sayings give us a window into Jesus’s mind, into what he was thinking when he was dying on the cross. Here they all are. Do you know them all? Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Truly, I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.

[00:06:02] They’re from Luke. Dear woman, here is your son and here is your mother. That was in our reading tonight. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? One of the big favourites. Notice in Matthew and Mark, but not in Luke and John. Then I thirst from John 19 in our reading. And finally, number seven, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. I’m hoping that these sayings will be used by Jesus again to transform us all. I’m going to focus on number six and number seven. The logic is as simple as this. Nobody points this out, but you guys will be able to work it out. You can’t say number seven until you’ve said number six. See, Jesus came for a purpose. He had a job to do. He had something that he had to achieve.

[00:07:25] And he came to the conclusion of it all and he announced that fact. It is finished. And it was only after then that he could actually give up his life and place himself into the hands of his Father. Now, I know that the order of the seven is really based on tradition because we don’t have them all listed in the one gospel. We don’t have the order direct, but I reckon this traditional order is pretty right. But it doesn’t really matter. It’s obvious to me that seven has to come after six, right? You can’t have him speaking after number seven because he’s died. And number six, I think it’s fair enough to make it the climax of it. Jesus had warned everyone of his impending departure. It was a journey that he had to take alone. He said, little children, yet a little while I’m with you, you’re going to seek me. And just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come.

[00:08:53] A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, just as I’ve loved you, you also ought to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward. Peter said to him, God love him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I’ll lay down my life for you. Jesus answered, will you? Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you’ve denied me three times. In other words, before morning, you will have denied me three times. You see, only Jesus could undergo the passion events. He had a journey to go through. He had a job to do that nobody else could do.

[00:09:59] He would be and had to be the first person to actually say it is finished. And I want you to understand that he said that for each one of us here tonight. But I want you to notice he said to Peter, you will follow later. I’m gonna go and you can’t go where I’m going, but Peter, you can follow afterwards. And I want you to feel like you want to follow Jesus too. Some people see Jesus’s cross as Jesus losing, as though somehow he was defeated there. But that’s not true for the closest witnesses who heard Jesus say these seven things. What to some seemed to be his greatest defeat, to others was the greatest witness to who he was. Witnessing these seven sayings, witnessing the events that he said them in, brought real change. When the

[00:11:15] centurion, the Roman guy who killed him, like drove the nails, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, his reaction, truly this man was the Son of God. You and I, we will be forced to make decisions about Jesus as we witness these events too. But Jesus couldn’t die until something was finished. The tragedy of Calvary was achieving something, something that he could say he’d completed. It was job done, task complete. He couldn’t leave this life until he had achieved what he had come to achieve. He finished paying the price of eternal redemption. He made the sacrifice of himself, once for all people and once for all time. Having made that sacrifice in resurrection, he could enter the heavenly Holy of Holies and there offer himself to God. God laid

[00:12:32] on him on the cross the sins of us all, all sin of all people from all time. Dealing with sin was finished. He made him who knew no sin to be sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus was still alive when he said it is finished. He had suffered for sin. He had drunk the dregs, the cup the Father gave him to drink, the cup of our sins. He had finished with your sins and mine. He died as our substitute, dying in our place so that he could be our representative in resurrection and offer himself to God, becoming the first fruits from the dead and eternally representing us before the Father in heaven. The death and resurrection of Jesus are linked temporarily, three days apart. You can’t rise unless you’ve died. They’re linked notionally. You have to

[00:13:43] die in order to be raised and they’re also linked functionally. The sacrifice became the priest who offered himself to God in the Holy of Holies. When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands that is not of this creation read heaven. He entered once for all into the holy places not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by the means of his own blood thus securing or having secured an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the pure purification of the flesh how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God purify

[00:14:41] our conscious from dead works to serve the living God. My friends it is finished means that eternal redemption had been paid for. The period of time when Jesus was forsaken was over. The darkness that eerily came over the land ended and Jesus could say it is finished and it’s only because he had he was able to say it is finished that he could say father into your hands I commit my spirit. Everything was now restored in relationship with this father so he could trust his soul into God’s care. I want you to see Jesus saying all of this afresh because he could say it is finished. He could say father into your hands I commit my spirit. I also want you to understand because he said it is finished. You and I we can say father into your hands I commit my spirit. I

[00:16:14] commit my life just like he did. I want you to understand that the only way for you to fully appropriate the wonder of all that he achieved when he’d said it is finished. All that he’s achieved in in your life because of what he did in dying and rising from the dead. I want you to know that all that there is in light of his wonderful words it is finished. Brings you to the place where you have to say father into your hands I commit my life. That is the statement that brings the faith or is the faith that saves. This is the statement of faith that expresses the truth of taking up your cross and following him. It is expressing the truth it’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself for me.

[00:17:23] Can you see? Because Jesus said it is finished. You and I, we are compelled to say, Father, into your hands I commit my life. I had a friend who died recently, she was 104. Just got back from Victoria, just after Christmas, mid-January, to the news that she was failing and was going to die. I rushed to see her and I got to see her just before she died. I’m so glad. But she was 104. That’s not bad, eh? And life was pretty bad for her because as she was that old, everything started to conk out. She was blind. She was blind, could not see anything. She was half-death. She couldn’t walk. She was 100% dependent on other people.

[00:18:29] But it wasn’t all bad. We had some real good times of fellowship. I was there to celebrate her 100th birthday and we had a letter from the Queen. She was still alive. Everything was going great. All was good. It’s a bit of a celebration when somebody turns 100. The funny thing was, there was a man in the same village who had a birthday on the same day and he turned 100 two years after this lady and we had an absolute stitch up when we were celebrating the birthdays together. So you can imagine there’s two groups of people, one celebrating this lady’s 102nd and a big group of people with balloons with 100 and letters from the Queen in plaques and all of that celebrating this man’s 100. And they’re, you know, thinking they’re the aunt’s pants because they’ve made it to 100. They’re celebrating 100 and we were sitting over there going,

[00:19:32] old hat. We’ve got 102. We had some real laughs together but I can tell you that she also used to want to know, why is God keeping me alive for so long? I’m no good to anybody like this. I can’t see. I can barely hear. I can’t walk. I can’t do anything. Why doesn’t God just take me is what she would say. I didn’t know how to answer. I’m trying to think of, oh no, you’ve got a purpose. You can pray. I’m trying to come up with stuff. But at the end of the day, I didn’t know what to say to her. I really didn’t. I didn’t know why. And then she used to ask me about, well, what’s going to happen when I die anyway? And I started thinking, I’m thinking, well, one day Jesus will come and he will take you to be with himself.

[00:20:51] And it was last Easter. When I was thinking about Jesus and him saying, it is finished and father into your hands, I commit my spirit. I had an idea to talk to her. I went to see her and I said, you know, you’re not the first person to die, you know. Jesus has died. And there was a day when he said there was a time when he could say, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. And one day you’ll be able to say it, too. He said it is finished. The sins are dealt with. All that he came to achieve completed. And so he could say, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. Gene, I said you’re able to say the same thing.

[00:22:02] He will come and you can just say. Into your hands, I commit my spirit. Any of us who are believers will be able to say the same thing on our deathbeds, or even if we’re being hit by a car, run over by a bus, there’ll be a moment, hopefully a moment when we’re lucid enough to be able to say, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. But I want you to see that because Jesus has said it is finished, because he has asked us to follow him, because Jesus requires that we take up our cross daily and follow him, that we have to say, Father, into your hands, I commit my life. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, when we become Christians, that is what we’re saying. And that is what we’re saying. It’s what we should be saying every day, not just on the last day of

[00:23:19] our lives as we die, but it is something, it’s the attitude of faith that says, God, I’m dependent on you, you’ve done everything for me, and so I commend my life to you. Somehow, we kid ourselves that we can live for ourselves, keeping Jesus at arm’s length. We’re busy with our lives, we’re doing what we want, and when that final day comes, then we’ll be ready to say, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. But you can’t know that he will receive your spirit unless you know, first of all, what Jesus meant when he said, it is finished when he’s covered all of your sins. Listen, Jesus comes to all of our hearts, and he makes the incredible offer that the Apostle Peter gave to the people on the day of Pentecost. He said, repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,

[00:24:33] for the promises for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Jesus wants all of us to hear him say, it is finished, and lead us to the point where we will say, Father, into your hands, I commit my life. That is the attitude of faith that Peter is saying is represented by repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins. That’s what we all should be doing. This is the statement of faith that gets you saved, because Jesus has said, it is finished, because he paid for all of your sin, one for all, and once for all time, our response to him can only be, Father, into your hands, I commit my life. There is no other way to trust him, either at your death, as you pass into the next life, and also no other way to live your life for him today, than other than to say,

[00:25:50] I give my life to you. Will you say afresh today, and every day from now on, it is finished. You’ve paid it all, so into your hands, I commit my life. Am I making sense to you? I am. I can move on. Let me show you what I mean by talking about the first saying on the cross. Two others who were criminals were led away, they were put to death with him, and when they came to the place that is called the Skull there, they crucified him and the criminals, one on his right, one on his left, and Jesus said, it just blows everybody’s mind, that Jesus would say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. While they were killing him,

[00:27:12] he asks for their forgiveness. He was innocent, and yet he could forgive. This is one of those things that Jesus did, that shows what forgiveness is, that we find impossible to follow. Some people say it is the greatest challenge that you and I will face, that is to forgive others as we have been forgiven. How long since you’ve prayed the Lord’s prayer? Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. We make our forgiveness with God conditional on our ability to forgive others. Then there’s this, what Jesus says, if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And then there’s the parable of the unforgiving servant. Do you know that?

[00:28:43] Will I read it or will I just tell it? Ah, I’ll just tell it. I’ll leave it there you could read what I tell it. There’s a rich guy, he’s got servants, and he’s a bit worried about one of his servants has been doing something wrong with his books. In fact he’s done so wrong with his books, he’s taken, misplaced, used, lost somehow the value of a whole vassal kingdom and the boss calls him in and says please explain and he just, how do you say I’ve lost the price of a vassal kingdom and he just begs for mercy and the boss goes oh okay I’ll wipe you down. What? It’s millions and millions, a billion dollars, just let go. Well that guy, he’s on his way home, I imagine he’s got a bit of a spring in his step but some of the the boss’s officials notice him bump into a guy that owes him a few bucks and he goes up to the guy and he says mate you owe me a few bucks, when are you going to pay up?

[00:30:08] He says oh you know I’m trying, I’m trying, he grabs him by the throat and says mate you owe me a few bucks, give it to me or else and the officials that saw this go back to the boss and say you know that guy that you just like forgave the debt of a billion bucks, we just saw him choking a guy outside for three bucks. What are you going to do? The boss says bring him in, bring him in and he brings him in and the conclusion of the story and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you and in anger his master delivered him to the jailers until he could pay all of his debt which is never. So also my heavenly father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. Do you have somebody that you need to forgive? We have had a massive debt forgiven. Jesus has said it is finished and he’s paid for it all.

[00:31:34] He offers us complete forgiveness and does anyone hurt you? It could be somebody that you live with at home, it could be your parents, it could be a mate from school, somebody who’s bullying you, it could be someone from years ago in your past. Most of us have somebody that we need to forgive. So how did Jesus when he was dying on the cross like he’s got a fair bit going on and yet he is saying father forgive them but they know not what they’re doing. Is it just because he was God? How can you and I do it who aren’t God? The answer is for us to follow him. He let you off the hook when he said it is finished. So because you’ve been led off the hook you have to let off those who have hurt you and how do you go about doing that? You have to hold your hands up and say father into your hands I commit my life. I can’t forgive like you want me to forgive. It sounds like I’ve got a lot of old lady friends. I don’t know why but it happens when you go into

[00:33:10] old folk songs you bump into these old ladies and some of them are friendly. Well this other old lady I’m about to tell you about, she wasn’t so friendly. In fact the nursing staff, the carers, they did not like her at all and complained to me about her. She was trouble, she used to be bossy, she was mean and she was nasty. She’s died since so I’m happy to talk about it now. One day I was walking down the corridor past her room and she went normally I get I’m used to that. No I’m not I’m joking. She whistled me like a dog like that and expected me to come in. This is the type of lady she was and she came, I went in and went yes and what can I do for you trying to be happy and she just came straight out and said to me can God forgive me and I went yes. Jesus died on the cross and said it is finished he’s paid in full and she said I know that but let me tell you

[00:34:44] what I’ve done. I went okay I sat on her bed and out came the story I’ll cut it short and I’ll keep it not so rated R. She said when I was a young girl we’re talking like 12 maybe 11. My family became share farmers. We worked on another man’s property and we lived there for free but we worked and that’s how we lived. We were poor. The man who owned the farm caught me one day in the shed and he raped me and he said you can’t tell anyone or I’ll kick your family off and you’ll meet me here again. I’m going yikes. I’m thinking compulsory reporting. I’ve got all this stuff going in my head and then she went on and she said this went on for years and years and she said I’ll tell you I actually started to enjoy it. Can God forgive me?

[00:36:25] I said nothing. I said tell me about the man. She said he’s dead and I’m glad. I hate his guts. I would too. I didn’t say that but that’s what I was thinking. I think the Lord told me to say to this lady I said I think I know why you’re finding it so hard to know the forgiveness of God. He has paid for your sins in the cross. I can quote the verses like I have tonight about him coming to the place when he says it is finished. And there but you’re never going to know that until you’re willing to forgive him. He’s dead.

[00:38:05] Let him go. Leave him to God. She said I can’t do that. She hated him. It was two weeks and we buried her and I’ll tell you I was crying inside because I didn’t know where she went. Take Jesus’s words seriously. If you can’t forgive, I won’t forgive. I can tell you heaps of stories about forgiveness. I’ve got a list here all under one person’s name, Corrie Ten Boom. There’s heaps and heaps of people who can testify to how God has touched their hearts and enabled them to forgive. Forgiveness is just a choice and you can simply choose to let people

[00:39:35] off the hook but to get to that place I want you to understand it’s in the light of Jesus having said it is finished and everything is complete. The job of dying for sins was done and everything was paid in full. One person for everyone, one event for all time and then he could say it is finished and then after all was restored with his father he could say into your hands I commit my spirit and here you and I who wrestle with unforgiveness, who wrestle with living how Jesus wants us to live and to be forgiving. We may be like that old lady who’s got some horrendous past that’s this huge skeleton in her closet and she can let it go. She just simply could choose to let it go. Where do you get the strength to do it? Where does that come from? It comes in the light of Jesus as it is finished and you saying it is into your hands. God I commit my life all that you want me to be. I need you.

[00:41:10] We’re going to talk about these things each week that’s three done but we’ve only got three more weeks there’s four left. I’m still not sure what to do whether to leave one out or to squeeze them in and do two or one. I’ll decide I hope if you complain Jim will receive your complaints. I’m sure. You’re good. I’m done. Let’s pray. Lord Jesus into your hands I commit my life. There’s nowhere else to go. You said it is finished. Amen.