148: Jon Fry - The Cross

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to Good Christadelphian Talks. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. And I'm Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode at the start of each week, with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to listen to.

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   And now, let's talk more about this week's talk. Hello, everyone. This is Brother James DiLiberto. And as Chris and Kristen said last week, I will be your guest host for the next four weeks during the month of July, during the summer holidays in the Northern Hemisphere, giving a well-deserved break for Chris and Levi and Brian.

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   As they mentioned a couple weeks ago on the podcast, everyone else who is behind this and the many volunteers that it takes to actually put this wonderful project together. So, very happy to help out as we're back in lockdowns here in Australia. We're really thankful for this podcast. Thankful that a lot of the other areas back home are doing better.

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   We're really struggling to be apart from you, but this podcast is really helping to bridge the gap. The next four weeks, we're going to introduce three new speakers to the podcast, both new and old classes that have really stood out to me and some suggestions from others. And one from a hugely respected brother from my teenage years, which I just love.

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   And we're going to have four accents, four countries, and hopefully some great variety for you all. This week's class is by Brother John Fry, and it was delivered recently during the Melbourne Combined Weekend in between lockdowns here, when he gave a series on the end of Christ's life through to the resurrection called From the Upper Room to the Empty Tomb.

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   And this is the third class called The Cross. It was a recommendation sent in, and if someone didn't recommend it, I was going to recommend it. So I'm really glad this one made it into the suggestion box. If you can imagine in your mind, it was a huge room, hundreds of people. But the way John talks, his manner of description, his word pictures, his very slow and deliberate style, it's super powerful and very honoring to the crucifixion and this whole period of Christ's life.

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   He is an amazing communicator, and he has an amazing way of storytelling. Very conversational, yet very measured and powerful with his words. He tells a lot of stories about his own life back in Glasgow in Scotland. You'll get to hear a lot of personal testimony about how the life of Jesus impacted him.

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   And he gives just some amazing insights that I had never heard before and gave me a new appreciation for the cross. We'll be posting this entire series of four talks on the extended podcast. But please enjoy this class. Sit down in a quiet place. It's one of those really reflective kinds of classes where you really want to give it your attention and let every word just hit you.

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   Besides the occasional crying of a baby that you can hear in that room, I can tell you, you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was hanging on his every word. And the way he deals so respectfully with the cross and all the words of Jesus, which is his main focus. He really draws you in and really focuses on the meaning of the words from the cross for Jesus, for us, and how we can apply them in our life today.

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    So please enjoy this class. This is Brother John Fry, the cross. Well, good morning, everybody. And good morning to those listening and tuning in at home.

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    We're just going to recap what we considered yesterday evening with the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ. We saw, didn't we, that as Jesus was arrested, we see in our darkest hour, in the Lord's darkest hour, his light shining bright. He is God's light in our darkness. We considered the betrayal of Jesus and how that had such a significant impact on him.

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    It weighed heavy on his heart. And it's something we often overlook. Look, it's a significant trauma that he had to face and endure. Step by step through the night, we saw that Jesus' trial was made up of six different trials. He was mistreated and paraded before not only the religious leaders but the civil leaders of the day.

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    Christ endured so much brutality. But yet he was full of grace and truth through all that he suffered. And despite the authority of the high priest of Herod and finally of Pilate, it becomes clearly apparent that it's us, humanity, that's on trial. And it's Christ who's the one that sits in the judgment seat.

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    And so now we turn our face to the cross. When I was a kid, my dad would sometimes take me and my brothers to the art gallery and museum in Glasgow. Mum was a midwife and she used to work night shifts. She had a little moped, a little scooter. We'd hear mum come home in the morning from work.

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    And if it was the holidays, I think dad would try and get us out of the house so that mum could get a bit of sleep during the day. And dad would often take us to the art gallery and museum. It's a really old building.

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    The UK does old buildings good. And as far as museums go, it's pretty special. As a child, I used to love visiting this place. In particular, the old wooden revolving doors to get in. I just used to spend half my time going around those. Dad would have trouble getting us out of the revolving doors, let alone into there.

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    Inside the art gallery part of the building, which was upstairs, is very dark, dimly lit, I think, just to protect the artworks. And there's a few paintings and sculptures that I can still really remember vividly to this day when I picture them in my mind. One's a sculpture from 1907 of Isaac and Esau.

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    And one is a picture by Salvador Dali of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. I remember being sort of transfixed by this picture as a child. It's just an unusual picture of Jesus on the cross. It's unlike any of the other pictures and artworks of the crucifixion that we might have seen.

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    Usually the viewpoint is from the ground. Looking up at Jesus. Looking to Christ. And instead this one looks down from above. As if it were a heavenly view.

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    We've thought much this weekend, haven't we, about the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Really what we committed to do at the start was to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. But I want us to pause for a moment this morning to think about our heavenly father. And the grief that these events brought to his heart.

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    God did not remain silent as his son suffered. God spoke in signs and wonders. God's grief is seen in the three hours of darkness. In the middle of the day. Luke tells us that the sun's light failed.

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    God spoke in the spirit tearing through the earth. Ripping the ground and the earth causing the ground to shake. God spoke. That God allowed the suffering and the death to happen speaks of that unfathomable, enduring, everlasting love. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

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    And as we read through the gospel records, when we come to the crucifixion of Jesus, we find that there's actually very little information, there's very little detail about the actual crucifixion. And we ask ourselves why.

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    And I think it's out of love for us. God has spared us that pain. Of some of the most intense agony and the height of our Lord's suffering and the details of that act. So in our time together for this morning's session, we will consider the conversations, the words that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke from the cross, because that is what Matthew, Mark and Luke and John want us to focus on.

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    It's the words of Jesus that they would have us remember. And hopefully we'll be able to find in these words life-changing lessons for us today.

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    We know, don't we, from our reading and from the other gospels, that a lot of things were said to Jesus as he was on the cross. And like he did often during his trials, he doesn't respond, he doesn't retaliate, or he's not aggravated by these things. His strength, his courage, his composure is just astounding.

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    We can only imagine the sounds and the words that would leave the mouths of someone being crucified. We can't really imagine, can we, the sounds of someone in pain on our cross.

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    But what words leave the lips of our King? Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do. They knew that they were crucifying this man, but what Jesus is saying is that they don't understand who I am. God, they don't understand, they don't appreciate who I am.

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    In his suffering, in the midst of the most unbearable suffering, Jesus' first word is Father. Like we saw in the garden with his prayer. And again, Christ is teaching us how to think through our suffering, the place to go in the beginning. God. That's what we need to start in our own suffering and in our own challenges.

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    In the midst of the worst that could happen, Jesus still calls God his Father. You know, when we think about our own lives and what can happen to us, in much smaller situations, we question God. We might even be in a position where we question the very existence of God when we're faced with such extreme suffering.

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    And Jesus can still call God his Father. Because he knows that God is in control. He knows that even though he is faced with the full extent of humanity's hatred, that God's love endures eternally.

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    He knows that all things work together for good, of those that love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. And further, in his suffering, it's incredible, isn't it? Jesus' mind isn't on himself.

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    This first prayer of Jesus from the cross, it's not about himself. It's about others. He's not spiraling ever inward as he suffers. He's not lost in himself. His mind is on God and on other people. That's such a challenge, isn't it? For us in our own suffering, in our own challenges that we face in our lives.

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    It's so easy to get stuck on ourselves and the situation that we're in. But Christ teaches us a better way to live through our suffering, to set our hearts on God and on others.

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    And let's consider Christ's forgiveness here, its immediacy, its depth, its expanse. When do we forgive? It can take a while, can't it? Here we have Jesus in the midst of being wronged, forgiving those who are doing it, seeking their forgiveness. It's a great lesson for us to build and develop a heart like Christ's, to be able to do this, to be able to forgive freely and swiftly for our own good.

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    There may be some people who we are still to forgive. And we live with this weight of anger, of disappointment. Jesus, the teacher, in the moment, in the midst of the situation, the gravest sin being committed against him, right then and there, seeks forgiveness for those who are murdering him. reading from Luke's gospel in chapter 23.

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    One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, 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.

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    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. And so the second words of Christ from the cross are a conversation, this time words not directed to his father, but to one of those who has been crucified with him.

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    You know, this man, this criminal who received these words from Jesus went on to endure much pain that day himself. And we think of the power of these words for that person.

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    He went on to have his legs broken by the Roman soldier some hours later before he finally died. And he took nothing with him to his grave except that knowledge, that assurance that Christ gave him that he would be together with our Lord. You know, he was one of the very few, the very few that looked at Christ on the cross and saw the king.

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    It said king of the Jews. That was the charge against him scrawled above his cross. But this man, he was one of the very few that when he looked upon Christ could see the king. He believed that inscription that was placed there. And we can only guess at the comfort that this exchange of faith and hope brought to both him and to our Lord.

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    In Isaiah's prophecies, in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 12, we read, And so in that Old Testament passage, which is alluded to in our reading that we had together this morning, we also have this glimmer of hope, don't we? This idea that all that was happening, all that was unfolding, all that Jesus was enduring, was leading to something bigger, something better, not only for him, but for those who would share in his glory.

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    This man who spoke to Christ in faith and hope would have divided, have one of those portions. He would share in Christ's portion, in Christ's inheritance. The spoil that Christ would gain from this victory would be shared with this man who upon the cross was so weak, but in God's eyes will one day be made strong.

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    And the words of the criminal who was hung there on the cross next to Jesus reminded Jesus of that shared joy that was set before him. That all the afflicted would be satisfied, that all those who seek God shall praise the Lord. Can we do that for each other in our suffering?

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    Can we say those words that remind us of what has been promised to all of us? And so Christ, in return, gave this man the comfort that he sought.

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    Paul wrote to the Romans, We are children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. There's no one other than this man that we can say these words truly of in terms of the extent of Christ's suffering on the cross.

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    He truly suffered with Jesus. He suffered beside him. And what is wonderful is the conversion of this criminal. We can see from the scripture the harmony of the different gospel records that it seems there's a transition in this man from reviling Jesus to saying these words. And so through no direct communication that we know of, this criminal was converted by, like many people, watching at how Christ reacted to those people who were abusing him, who were speaking to him and mocking him.

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    He saw this, and it spoke to him about Christ, this man beside him on the cross. And if this is true, brothers and sisters, this is true, friends. This tells us that people notice how we suffer.

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    People see how we cope and manage and handle the challenges that we face in our own lives. And this can speak to them. John's gospel records for us the next words of Jesus from the cross.

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    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.

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    So we've seen Jesus speaking to his father. And now we see Jesus speaking to his mother and caring for his mother. You know, one of the hardest parts of our own suffering can be to know what pain it causes to our family. You know, we suffer, don't we, when people in our family suffer.

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    When our friends suffer, there is an element of suffering that we share with them. Mary truly did have a sword pierced through her own soul. Can you imagine when she received the news that her son had been arrested?

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    As she came down with the throngs and saw her son paraded, bruised and battered and bleeding as he carried his cross? Christ gave everything. He truly did.

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    He gave up a wife and a family of his own. He gave up all earthly aspirations. He gave up a job or a career. He gave up money and any wealth that he might have had.

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    He gave up a home with everything that goes with that. He gave up all his possessions. At his death, he even gave up his clothes.

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    And now he gives away his mother. And his words speak through those generations to us here today. They teach us of a togetherness of suffering. We are together, aren't we, here this weekend. We are a family together. We are united in Christ. Look around you here in this place.

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    Behold, your son, your daughter, your mother, your father, your sister, your brother. Christ wants us to care for each other as we care for our own family. And in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, we learn that there is no suffering too extreme where we cannot care, where we cannot give, where we cannot bless, where we cannot forgive.

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    The Lord Jesus Christ on the cross shows us this. In Mark's gospel, in chapter 15, verse 25, he reveals that Christ was crucified at what would be nine o'clock in our time.

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    And he had been on the cross for six hours, six hours, when he cried out with a loud voice. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

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    Christ's words now return to between a father and a son. These words are timeless, aren't they? Literally, they had been breathed centuries before in a prayer. In our Bible's Psalm 22.

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    And it's a passage combined with the words of Christ on the cross that we've pondered a lot, that all disciples have pondered, trying to understand the mind of Christ.

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    These words have caused many to ponder and dwell on what Christ meant when he said that he was forsaken. The Lord Jesus Christ reminds us that it's okay to ask why.

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    It's okay to ask why when we're suffering. It's okay in our pain to question what we're going through. It's not a sin. And this is a comfort to us.

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    What does Jesus mean by forsake? forsake? Well, a passage that I've found that helps me somewhat is looking at how this word forsake is used in the Bible. We know obviously it's there in Psalm 22 and it's in a number of other places throughout the Old Testament. I think the first place it appears is right back in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 24.

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    Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. Now when we think of the word forsake it's got quite harsh and hard qualities to it, doesn't it? When you think of the word leave, it doesn't have that same weight, that same edge that we have when we think of the word forsake.

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    And so in what sense did God leave Jesus? If Christ is saying, my God, my God, why have you left me? God hadn't given up on Jesus.

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    But he had let him and left him to suffer. through his trial. And now for six long hours upon the cross. And there's a loneliness in Christ's suffering.

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    Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. Why? It's for you and me. it's for all of us. Out of the anguish of my soul, sorry, out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied.

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    When Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? he is in the midst of his anguish. But it's out of this anguish that he's able to be led to seeing and being satisfied in the work of his father. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

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    and so we have considered much that Christ endured this weekend. It's difficult, isn't it? It's hard on our hearts when we consider what Christ has done for us.

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    And words cannot express our thankfulness to him and to our heavenly father for what Christ endured for us. In John chapter 19 and verse 28, we have recorded some of the final words of our Lord.

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    He says in this passage, we'll just have a look at these words. After this, 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 sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

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    And when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirits. So here we have two words of Christ, two of the sayings of Christ from the cross. The first is, here is, I thirst.

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    Christ, at this point, is an empty cup. cup. You know, when he asks in the garden if this cup can pass from him, if it can be another way, well, there was no other way. And the cup has been fully emptied. His cup, his soul, was poured out to death, we're told in Isaiah.

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    But it wasn't wasted, was it? It was poured out that our cup might overflow. All that Christ knew about his trial, about his execution, that the many details had each, one by one, come to pass. And when he was first offered a drink, as we read in Mark, he declined. He knew that he would have a drink.

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    It's incredible to think, isn't it, as these events unfolded, he knew those things that he would do. What a strange sort of experience to have, both fulfilling those words, but living those words. They were his experiences, they were his emotions, they were his words, they were his feelings. he experienced it all becoming a reality and there was just one thing yet to happen.

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    How incredible the word of God is. Throughout his suffering, the word of his father continually coursed through the mind of Christ. And we truly see it made flesh in him. He lived it. He breathed it. He was waiting for this moment to happen, but at the same time he experienced it. It was his thirst, thirst.

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    A real thirst. It brings out, doesn't it, again, once again for us, the physicality, the realness to Christ's suffering. And we take from those two simple words, I thirst, the message again to speak out in our suffering and to seek support from others. it can be so hard to communicate and tell people what we're suffering and seek help from other people.

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    If any one of us here today is silently suffering, can we take courage from Christ and can we try to follow his lead? we can speak to God, we can speak to someone, we can tell them our pain. It's not wrong to ask for help.

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    For many thousands of years before Christ had hung on the cross, God had said, my spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh. and after Christ had had a drink, he said, it is finished.

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    As we've looked at these words of Jesus from the cross, it's quite clear, isn't it, who he's speaking to, his father, the criminal, his mother, his friend, those nearby, it is finished. Who was Christ speaking to?

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    I believe in a sense it was to himself. As those words passed his lips, Christ knew that he he knew that his life was complete.

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    He knew that his suffering had come to an end. He knew that he would breathe his last breath. He knew that he was about to destroy the power of death. And he wasn't only speaking to himself, was he, brothers and sisters?

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    He was speaking to us, even here today. A message to tell us and remind us that deliverance is found in him. It is finished. his father who had breathed the spirit of life into him would tenderly take it back.

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    Matthew tells us that Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Mark says that Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And it's Luke who records for us in his gospel what words were spoken in that loud voice, in that loud cry. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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    spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. We began this morning by considering Christ's first words on the cross. In the midst of such intense suffering, his first word was Father. And his final words start in the same way.

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    May we too endure our suffering and be encircled and embraced with the knowledge that God is our Father. May he surround us. May he hold us as we surrender our lives into his hands. sins.

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    And so in conclusion for this morning, we're spared the most traumatic details of the crucifixion, but we can clearly, clearly hear the words of Christ that breathe through his suffering.

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    And each word that he says holds a lesson for us, ones that we can dwell on and meditate upon. Christ teaches us the place of faith, the place of hope, the place of love in the midst of life's agony.

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    And in the words that are spoken as he was lifted up, we are taught the forgiveness, the togetherness and the surrender to be found in suffering.

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    We don't tend to use the symbol of the cross in our community. but may we never forget what Christ did for us on that cross.

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    And we must never let the words that he uttered up there on that cross leave our hearts. thank you for listening to the good Christodelfian talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review in Apple podcast or whichever service you are using to help more people find the show when they search for it.

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    Thank you for listening. God bless, and talk to you next week.