Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
SEVEN CRIES OF THE SAVIOUR FROM THE CROSS
If seven is the perfect number in Scripture, then it is not surprising
that seven cries are recorded as having fallen from the lips of the
Lord Jesus while He suffered on the Cross. Perhaps there were more, as
many Old Testament laments are certainly fitting for the occasion, not
least the words of Jeremiah, "Is
it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD
hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." However, the Holy Spirit has seen fit to record only seven and we are to rest content with what has been revealed.
These Seven Cries were all spoken when the Lord Jesus was in full control of all His faculties. Although
He had been traumatised, brutalised, severely beaten, lashed with a
Roman whip and was now dying that most painful of deaths i.e.
crucifixion, our Lord never lost control of His thoughts. None of His
words may be considered to be the dying ramblings of a broken man, able
to be put into some kind of context that allows us to ignore
them. These are the words of the mighty Conqueror of Calvary.
They are all rational words and none are inconsistent with the claims
which He made earlier in His life or which were made for Him by the
Apostles who followed.
These Seven Cries give us an insight into His tremendous love for sinners. They
come to us in the context of the Cross where God commended, or showed,
His love towards us. Christ's first cry, spoken as they were spiking
His hands to the tree, is full of love. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:34) There
was no cursing of His cruel tormentors. There were no threats of
vengeance. Those twelve legions of angels doubtless looked on in
absolute wonder as the Divine lips moved, and pleaded for the salvation
of His murderers. This prayer was abundantly answered. The dying thief
who cursed him and the Roman Centurion who oversaw the whole execution
appear to have been its immediate first fruits. Later, at Pentecost,
many of those whose wicked Jewish hands which had crucified and slew
him, would cry out in repentance and faith. Ultimately, since it was
our sins which nailed Him to the tree, every Christian is saved in
answer to this interceding cry of Christ. It cannot but see complete
fulfilment.
These Seven Cries show us something of His great sufferings for us. The fifth and shortest of His cries "I thirst" (John 19:28) remind
us of the burning sun that poured forth its merciless rays upon Him as
He hung upon the tree. The offering of vinegar upon a spunge after this
cry was calculated more to prolong His sufferings, rather than relief
them. However, beyond the physical impact of His sufferings, these
words "I thirst" remind us of
His soul sufferings. The desire of the rich man in hell for a drop of
water to cool his tongue meets its match here in Christ's sufferings.
He really did take our hell's punishment for us, stroke for stroke,
when He died. This was not a hypothetical atonement for
hypothetical believers, but an actual laying upon the Lord Jesus, the
sins of us all. This is seen again in the fourth cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) Here
the Father forsook Him, when all the sins of His elect, were actually
laid upon the soul of His appointed Ransom. The sun hid its face at
this cry and we will never be able to adequately explain its depths.
The hymn writer perhaps summed it up when he wrote:
None of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed,
Or how dark was the night, the Lord passed through, 'ere he found the sheep which was lost.
The resurgence of false teachers, now sadly within the professing
Evangelical Church, who shamelessly deny the blood atonement of Jesus
Christ should restudy these cries again. To walk away from the Cross
and deny that God made Christ's soul as an offering for sin, beggars
belief in the light of this middle cry.
These Seven Cries reveal to us the great victory of Christ. The
second cry, in a unique conversation between two crucified victims,
must amaze the carnal mind reading these accounts. That one should say
to the Other, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom"
is an amazing show of faith. Thy Kingdom? A Man, rejected by His own
nation, betrayed, forsaken and denied by His own followers, hanging
naked on a Roman gibbet in the blazing sun possessing a Kingdom? Truly
flesh and blood had not revealed this truth nor inspired this hopeful
request. The gracious reply is no less startling. Full of victory, the
Saviour replies, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42-43) The sixth cry is no less fervent in this great truth of victory. "It is finished" (John 19:30)
- not whimpered nor whispered, but spoken in a loud voice that all
might hear. No sacrificing priest could ever say that! He stood
everyday, offering oftentimes the same sacrifice which can never take
away sins. "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God."
Every last jot and tittle of the sin hating law had expended itself
upon the soul of the Son of God. Every last prophecy had been
fulfilled. Full and complete atonement had been made, and the seventh
and last cry proves it: "Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46)
The Father, having forsook Him when the work of redemption was being
purchased, had now returned and received His Son again. These are cries
of complete victory. You can venture the destiny of your never dying
soul upon these things. Nothing can be added to a finished work. The
Captain of our Salvation was made perfect through sufferings and these
cries of victory reveal Him as a perfect Saviour.
These Seven Cries also reveal to us the tender pastoral heart of the Lord Jesus. This
truth should not be lost amidst the more doctrinal aspects of the
Cross. Only those who stand in need of such pastoral support will
perhaps appreciate this most. We may be hale and hearty now and in the
full bloom of our days, but it will not be always so. See the
tender concern which Christ showed towards His widowed mother who had
courageously come to watch her Son die. The prophesied sword was now
piercing her own soul also, although not in any atoning fashion.
Fulfilling the law that demands that we honour our parents, His third
cry was directed to first to Mary and then to John, "Woman, behold thy son!" and "Son, behold thy mother!" (John 19:26-27) Every relief of our needs and sufferings flows from His great sacrifice upon the Cross.
Study these great sayings for yourself. You will find them to be meat and drink for your soul.
THE END