Old Llantrisant Hill
- Concentrating particularly on v46
- Jesus hung on the cross for 6 hours
- Some of the most significant hours in history
- Jesus spoke 7 sayings during this time
- First group: 3 cries - first 3 hours
- Jesus pleads for forgiveness of His executors - "Father forgive them, they know not what they do"
- Jesus promises salvation to a repentant thief - "Today you will be with Me in paradise"
- Jesus provided for the care of His mother - "Woman, behold your son."
- Second group: 4 cries - in the second 3 hours
- Jesus petitions His Father
- Jesus pleads for a measure of relief - "I thirst"
- Jesus proclaimed victory - "It is finished!"
- Jesus prays a prayer of consummation - "Father into you hands I commend My Spirit"
- Jesus petitions His Father - "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (v46)
- This is not a gospel writer's opinion but Jesus declaring a fact
- Jesus has declared His love for His Father
- God the Father had declared His love for Jesus
- The Father with whom He had perfect fellowship
- Warning: we are looking into a profound mystery
- It is perplexing to us
- It is profitable for us
- It is to be looked at prayerfully
- Context:
- v45: between 12pm and 3pm there was darkness
- Glorious light at Jesus' birth but darkness at death
- Not a solar eclipse
- A supernatural darkness / a miraculous darkness
- God covered Egypt in 3 days of darkness during the time of the plagues written about in the Book of Exodus
- This was a symbol of God's judgment upon Egypt
- This darkness indicated that God's judgment was being poured out ... on Jesus
- Spoken of [in the Old Testament] by the Prophet Amos
- God was punishing Jesus
- Why Jesus? - He was pure, innocent and blameless
- We have all sinned - Isaiah
- Jesus was bearing the sin of His people
- God cannot dwell with evil
- Jesus became our sin bearer
- Jesus remained within the Trinity but lost intimate fellowship and communion with the Father during these three hours
- His Father was with Him for all of the time up until noon
- At noon the bearing of sin begins
- In His humanity Jesus is alone - forsaken by God the Father
- No angel from the Father to comfort Him
- His Father withdraws
- Four applications:
- We learn how much God loves us
- We learn how great the salvation Christ has won for us
- We learn how dreadful sin is
- We learn how dreadful hell is
- Closing remarks and gospel challenge