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THE END?


A. BACKGROUND  ... Let’s face it, the world is fascinated with Jesus. Believers and non-believers are forever trying to figure him out – who was Jesus? What was Jesus? Even “why?” The History Channel has a new Monday mini-series that explores Jesus dramatically and critically. The closer we get to Easter the more media will focus on him. I made the decision some years ago that Jesus would be my only focus theologically, pastorally, and spiritually. He is more than enough for me to grasp. Holy Week gives us the fullness of Jesus in eight days: popularity, wisdom, betrayal, grace, death and resurrection, humanity and divinity.
 
B. TODAY ... Luke 23:44-49
 
C. UNUSUAL SUMMARY.   In Luke’s telling Jesus is nailed to a cross, forgives everyone, and promises Paradise to a kind thief. This takes three hours. The last three hours everything turns dark, the Temple Curtain is torn in half, and Jesus “breathed his last” (vs. 46). The Roman Centurion, observing Jesus’ end, declares, “Surely, this was a righteous man” (vs. 47). In Matthew it is stronger, the Centurion proclaiming Jesus to be the “Son of God”. Most Christians on Good Friday remember Jesus’ “7 Last Words”. Luke has three of them, the other Gospels add four. Here’s that summary, in accepted order:
  1.  “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Spoken by Jesus the Son of God the father, appealing on behalf of all who have done him wrong.
  2.  “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Spoken to the “good thief” who did not join in mocking Jesus, but asked Jesus to remember him.
  3. “Mother, behold your son; son behold your mother” (John 19:26-27). Providing care for his mother, Jesus turns responsibility for her over to his disciple, John. They are now to think of each other as Mother and Son.
  4. “My God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus quotes Psalm 22. This and the next show Jesus at his most human: discouraged and in pain. See KEY POINT 1.
  5.  “I thirst” (John 19:28).
  6. “It is finished” (John 19:30). Almost triumphant. Jesus recognizes he has fulfilled his calling, done what needed doing.
  7. “Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit” (Luke 23:46). At life’s end we have two choices. One, turn the lights out, close the door, that’s all. Two, trust God. Even discouraged and in pain, that is still the choice of faith.
 
D. KEY POINTS
  1. How BAD was it? Crucifixion was an awful death, preceded by torture, and lasting many hours. It was meant to send a message to any opponents of Rome, real or imagined: this is how you’ll end up. Jesus’ “4th Word”, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” seems like Jesus at his lowest moment. Scholars point out that he was quoting Psalm 22, which begins despairingly and ends triumphantly. Maybe, with little strength left, he was pointing to that? OR, maybe Jesus meant what he said, which he always did. Our Christlike understanding of the cross is that Jesus is willfully paying for the sins of the world. The Apostle’s Creed states he “descended into hell”, or at least to the world of the dead. His friends had betrayed, denied, and abandoned him. As the ultimate sinner of the world, a convicted criminal, and the sacrificial lamb of atonement, Jesus felt forsaken.
  2. A GOOD DEATH? Under such circumstances? We all want a “good death” for ourselves and loved ones. Quick, pain free, with just enough time for meaningful “closure”. Some religions and self-help folks try to guide us to such an end. Nowadays, hospice care and palliative care are personally designed to ease “the crossing of the bar” (Tennyson). Jesus’ death had no such help; and, we sadly know, many deaths are still accompanied by pain, expense, humiliation, dependence, and are drawn out. YET Jesus offers powerful lessons in his final hours. He puts his house in order, giving John the charge of caring for Mary. He rejects bitterness, offering full-hearted forgiveness to all who put him on the cross. To all. He admits to his truest feelings. And he entrusts himself to God’s care. That’s a good death.