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The Last Words of Jesus Christ

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Jesus Christ, in His final hours on the stake at Calvary, experienced a profound separation from God the Father. In His fourth statement, He cried out from the depths of His heart, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" This intense cry, spoken in Aramaic and recorded in both Matthew and Mark, reflected His inner turmoil as He hung there, totally alone and cut off from His heavenly Father. Jesus, fully human, felt the weight of this isolation, bearing in His body the sins of mankind. As sin and God are incompatible, He endured the pain and anguish of total separation that results from sin, stepping into humanity's place to pay the penalty of death. During those hours of supernatural darkness, Jesus suffered without the comfort of God's presence, experiencing a tremendous sense of aloneness that was undoubtedly the most difficult part of His ordeal. God the Father withdrew from His Son, leaving Him to bear the sins of the world alone. Yet, even in this moment of abandonment, Jesus' cry was not faithless; He still addressed the Father as "My God." He understood the immutable nature of God's laws, which required Him to face these final minutes without divine support, carrying the full burden of humanity's transgressions. Jesus came to comprehend what it meant to be completely cut off from God, an experience that deepened His intercession for humanity with greater meaning and commitment. On that Passover day, He knew the stark reality of being alone in the world, lacking even the strength and encouragement that others might find through access to God. This separation underscored the gravity of sin's consequence, showing that even Jesus Christ, the perfect One, had to endure estrangement from the Father to fulfill His mission of salvation.

Jesus' Final Human Thoughts (Part One)

Article by Staff

As Jesus Christ approached His final hours as a human being, He faced an unimaginable separation from His beloved Father, a pain more profound than the physical torment He endured. Knowing the time of His suffering and death was near, He sought close communication with His heavenly Parent in Gethsemane, aware that His human freedom was slipping away. This separation became most evident when, in His agony on the cross, He cried out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" This cry reflected His deep distress as He felt deserted, left behind in His suffering, cut off from the perfect, loving, and eternal connection with His Father. This spiritual isolation, more than the rejection by mankind or the betrayal by His closest friends, contributed significantly to the intense sorrow and profound distress that overwhelmed Him, marking the depth of His sacrifice during those final moments.

Jesus' Final Human Thoughts (Part Two)

Article by Staff

During His final hours as a human, Jesus Christ endured profound agony, not only from physical torture but from an unparalleled spiritual separation from His Father. Jesus knew the intense repulsion between God and sin, a chasm so vast that it necessitated His Father turning away from Him as every sin ever committed was forced upon His pure being. This separation, though planned and agreed upon by Them both, was almost unbearable, with Jesus crying out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" fulfilling the prophecy He had inspired in David a thousand years prior. Even in His delirium, His words remained rooted in His own inspired Scripture, marking the peak of Their foreknown agony. This separation, lasting a little over three days, felt like an eternity to Both, with Jesus' last human day stretching like a thousand years in His patience and longing for reunification with His Father. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed about the cup He was to drink, a spiritual mixture of the world's sin and Their separation, a poison that racked His body and mind with stinging agony. He asked if the time to complete this dreadful drink might pass quickly, yet only if it aligned with His Father's will. Jesus knew this poison had to enter Him to be poured out with His life-blood, releasing the sins of the world as They contaminated Him until shed in death. Throughout His trials, Jesus remained resolute, aware that He could call upon His Father for rescue but choosing to endure, knowing that to falter would leave humanity without hope. His thoughts in those final hours focused not on individual sins but on the collective weight of millennia of human transgression, striving to overcome the physical and spiritual pain with the hope of reunification with His Father. In quiet resignation, He faced unjust trials and inhuman torture without further complaint, until His final cries of agony at the separation from His loving Father marked the end of His human thoughts.

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Sermonette by Ted E. Bowling

Our sins separate us from God; if we want to walk with God, it must be without sin. It is for our benefit that God holds such a high standard.

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Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Four distinct Old Testament Messianic prophecies were fulfilled by Christ's death and cited by the Apostle John.

By This We Know Love!

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

As God's people keep God's law in its spiritual intent, they begin to think like the Father and His Son, both of whom habitually do good.