Hopefully what happens in this room is you have
a conversation starter that lights a fire in
you that you leave here and it's lit such a fire
that it makes it to lunch, right? Because if
it makes it to lunch and you talk about it at
lunch or the drive home, there's a chance it'll
make it to your Monday. And if you have a conversation
on Monday, there's a chance it just might make
it to your life group. But the idea is that these
conversations we have in here, they matter, that
they should start something in you that you now
have a conversation with God, with the others
around you, and you begin to grow out of that.
And so last week we started this collection called
Last Words. What kind of summarizing Last Words
is this, that if you are God and you wait thousands
of years to show up in person, you show up in
human form, right? You've been showing up in
other forms the whole time, but now you're in
human form in the person of Jesus and you now
get nailed to a cross and you have seven statements
left to say. They got to be pretty important
words. Right? Like you're on the cross and the
idea of the cross was that you suffocate, that
you run out of air. And what happens when you
speak is you're actually using air to do so.
So when Jesus is on the cross and he pushes himself
up and he is going to make a statement, I don't
know about you, but that seems like a pretty
important thing that Jesus is about to say. And
here's how this works. If it's important to Jesus,
it should be important to us. And so we're looking
at those statements over these weeks going, what
mattered to Jesus in those moments? Now this
week, we hit a different topic than last week.
We hit a different conversation than last week.
But maybe a simple way to start it is this. Have
you ever, have you ever been hurt by another
human being? Have you ever been mistreated by
another human being? Have you ever been falsely
accused by another human being? Have you ever
not been listened to and discounted by another
human being? Have you ever been isolated? And
intentionally left out by people. Have you ever
been abused by someone else? Have you ever been
made fun of by someone else? If your answer is
no to that, then you clearly never went to middle
school. I'm just saying. Here's the thing. One
thing we have in common is that's all of us.
You're not that unique. And that is painful to
say for an Enneagram 4, that you're not that
unique. How do I know that? Because you live
on a broken planet with broken people. And guess
what broken people do? They hurt one another.
And so the chances are you were born, right?
You lived in some form of human community. And
inside of some of you were like, is there people
that are raised by animals in here? Okay, so
you were raised by a human community. And guess
what happened? People hurt you. That's what people
do. That's what we do to one another. And what
I really care about today and what I really hope
that you walk away with is what happens in the
midst of those hurts. Because there are different
responses. In fact, Jesus tells a story, tells
a parable in Mark chapter 12. It says, Jesus
then began to speak to them in parables. A man
planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it,
dug a pit for it, for the wine press, and built
a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to
some farmers and moved to another place. So I'm
not, never planted a vineyard. I'm fascinated
by it and understand that it is a lot of work,
that there's a lot of things that are temperamental
to it that you have to navigate to be able to
get that to grow, right? So within that, the
story's telling us that somebody else planted
the vineyard. They did the hard work of planting.
Then they did the hard work of the hard labor
of protecting by putting a wall around this vineyard.
And then on top of that, they dug a space for
the wine press, which is also incredibly difficult
work. And then they dug a well and built a watchtower.
Everything you needed to succeed. within the
vineyard, within producing a harvest, everything
had already been provided by somebody else. Then
that person rents it to this other person. Now,
the person walking in who, the farmer walking
in that it's been rented to, everything is done.
All you gotta do is not mess it up, right? All
you gotta do is live inside of what's there and
it will produce fruit and produce a harvest.
It carries on then in verse two, at harvest time.
The person that rented it, he sent a servant
to the tenants to collect from them some of the
fruit of the vineyard. So again, like really,
really natural part of the process. Wait, you
had a great harvest. I'm going to send a servant
and he's going to collect some of the fruit of
that harvest. You're going to share essentially.
Verse three, but they seized him. They seized
the servant, beat him and sent him away empty
handed. Then he sent another servant to them.
They struck this man on the head and treated
him shamefully. He sent still another, and that
one they killed. He sent many others, some of
them they beat, and others they killed. He had
one left to send, a son whom he loved. He sent
him last of all, saying, They will respect my
son. But the tenants said to one another, This
is the heir. Come, let's kill him and the inheritance
will be ours. So they took him out and killed
him and threw him out of the vineyard. What then
will the owner of the vineyard do? What then
will this man who's been completely mistreated,
gross injustice, what's going to happen? The
same story is captured in Matthew 21. And right
after that question, it says this. He, so this
is the crowd speaking, he will bring those wretches
to a wretched end, they replied. And he will
rent the vineyard to other tenants who will give
him his share of the crop at harvest. So response
number one to grave injustice. Response number
one to... The idea of someone harming you and
hurting you, mistreating you, and then going
to the point of actually killing those you love.
Response number one is, man, those wretches better
get what they deserve, right? So now the religious
people are like, give them what they deserve.
They deserve to die, right? What's fascinating
is if you follow this story further and you read
on. all of a sudden the people are like, yeah,
they need to die and give it to someone else.
They realize, oh, we are the people that have
been doing that. Because the story is about Israel.
The story is about God who has given everything
that is needed for a harvest and he gave it to
this nation and he provided for them and they're
wanting to take it from themselves. And so they're
killing prophets and then eventually Jesus shows
up. But isn't it fascinating that our response
to being wronged, is they need to get theirs.
Isn't it interesting that the natural response,
even though we're broken and we hurt a whole
bunch of people, the natural response is make
sure they get what they deserve. We have a moment
in Jesus's life where we get to see Jesus's response.
And in Mark chapter 15, the context is this,
that Jesus has been on trial. And there's a moment
where what's common practice is they would release
a prisoner as a part of the celebration. And
there's one prisoner, Barabbas, who is a known
criminal. And the governor is essentially going,
hey, you can have this bad guy or you can have
Jesus who I find nothing wrong with. What do
you want me to do? To which the crowd screams,
crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. Give us,
we want Jesus to be put to death. That's the
last thing that's said, and then this happens.
Verse 16. The soldiers led Jesus away into the
palace, that is the praetorium, and called together
the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple
robe on him, then twisted together a crown of
thorns and set it on him. And they began to call
out to him, Hail! king of the Jews. Again and
again, they struck him on the head with a staff
and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they
paid homage to him. And when they had mocked
him, they took off the purple robe and put his
own clothes on him and they led him out to crucify
him. Just so we're clear, We're going to slow
down and understand what's actually happening.
Because Jesus has now been led by soldiers into
what they call the Praetorium, which was the
center of the operations of the Romans. So sometimes
that was in the center of an encampment. Sometimes
that was in the palace, in the inmost part of
the palace. But what scripture is telling us
is that Jesus is led away and he is led into
the center of the enemy. That he is brought into
the center of what he is opposed to. And then
it says that all of the soldiers come in. And
so now you have surrounding Jesus, you have these
Roman soldiers who were designed. By training
and through life, that they would inflict as
much pain as possible. That they were experts
in how to kill somebody. They were experts in
how to torture you. And so what we're told is
he's brought into the middle, he's isolated,
he's alone. And as he's in the middle of this
crowd then, it says that they take a purple robe
and they put it on him. Why purple? Purple had
to do with royalty. What are they mimicking,
mocking in this moment is you said you're a king.
You realize who's in the middle of them, you
guys? This is God. So not just a king, the king.
And he's in the middle being mocked. By his creation.
And so they put a robe on him. It says that they
twisted together a crown of thorns and set it
on him. That sounds so nice, doesn't it? That
they just set it on him. I don't think from everything
I know about Roman soldiers, they weren't that
gentle. But I also know this. If you've ever
been around a thorn bush, you don't have to press
in very hard for it to cut through your skin.
And so they take a crown. of thorns and they
place it on Jesus's head, which is one of the
most sensitive parts of your entire body, the
top of your head. And as the thorns begin to
sink in, blood begins to drip. It says, and they
began to call out to him, hail king of the Jews,
you have the robe, you have the crown, therefore
you are the king. And they begin to mock him.
And can you imagine the noise? of an entire encampment
of soldiers that are now making fun of the person
in the middle. Again and again, they struck him
on the head. Okay, when scripture says something
twice, so when the words repeated again and again,
it's emphasizing it. Because it needs us to get
the emphasis again and again, repeatedly. Jesus
is now struck where? On the head. Where's the
crown of thorns? It's on his head. So what is
happening is the staff comes down every single
time. What is it hitting? The crown of thorns
that are being driven deeper into the scalp of
Jesus. But again and again. And then it says,
I struck him on the head with a staff and spit
on him. Is there anything more degrading than
when another human being chooses to spit into
the face of another human being? I mean, we don't
even accept that in things like football. Let
alone God in human form now surrounded by soldiers
that are all spitting on him as they are hitting
him repetitively in the head. Falling on their
knees, they paid homage to him. Again, just mocking
him. When they had mocked him, they took off
the purple robe and put on his own clothes, put
his own clothes on him. Then they led him out
to crucify him. The next part of the story we
pick up on, we find Jesus on the cross. At this
point, his back would have been torn open. There
would have been blood dripping down the cross.
The wood would have become stained red, so to
speak. His arms would have been stretched out.
The nails would have been impaled. His feet,
similar. And now in this moment, in this moment,
with everything we just read, now on a cross,
which remember, on a cross, every single breath
you're fighting for. So at this point, for Jesus
to speak, for Jesus to speak means that he is
physically having to do something to speak. And
instead of using his breath just to sustain life,
he's now speaking specifically. and allowing
us to get an insight into what matters to Jesus
and what matters to him matters to us. And in
chapter 23 of Luke, verse 34, it says this, Jesus
said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing. You got the response of
the religious leaders that are like, no, no,
no, make those wretches pay. You've got Jesus
who actually has the authority and the power
and in that moment could have cooked everything
and everyone all around the cross. That at one
point he goes, you know, I've got legions of
angels that can invade this moment. And by legions
of angels, I don't think they were little cherubs
that flew around with arrows. Like I think they're
terrifying. I think when you read scripture,
what's the natural response of humans to an angel?
Fear. So which is why the angel always says,
don't be afraid. Thanks, that helped. But the
beauty of this moment is you've got God in this
moment. What does he care about? Father. So it's
relational. He's in prayer. His relationship
with God in the midst of the cross, in the midst
of the suffering, in the midst of being mistreated,
what matters to him is his relationship with
the Father. And then he goes, Father, forgive
them. We were chatting this week on Tuesday in
our teaching prep meeting, and we were talking
about how it works for us, right? We pray and
we're like, Father, forgive them. Because I know
you'll get them later. Father, forgive them,
but I can't wait until your judgment hits them
and they're going to get what they deserve, right?
Like we pray forgiveness, but we're actually
going, yeah, and you're going to get yours when
Jesus shows up. That's not what you see here.
It's not, it's not, Father, I want to forgive
them. No, it's not that. It's Father. Forgive
them. Remove judgment from them. Release them
from what they have done. This is a spiritual
conversation. I think we miss this so often when
it comes to forgiveness. We think forgiveness
is about me and you, and it's about, oh, well,
if you say sorry, then I'll forgive you. That's
not how forgiveness works. That's not what you've
been set free to do. That's not why you've been
forgiven. You've been forgiven that you would
forgive. And the act of forgiveness for you is
between you and God to release. And here's what's
amazing, that as Jesus is there and he goes,
Father, forgive them, he's releasing them from
future judgment. I love that it says, Father,
forgive them for they do not know what they are
doing. There's this ignorance and wrongdoings.
You find it in scripture in Acts chapter three,
Acts chapter seven, Acts chapter 13. It's repeated,
right? When the story is told of Jesus, it talks
about that there's a group of people that were
doing wrong that didn't know they were doing
wrong, right? It's over and over in scripture
that you see that when somebody is involved in
wrongdoing, a lot of times it's in ignorance
and they don't even know they're doing it. I
wonder how many times you're all spun up. We
get so spun up, right, that this person did it
and we've got this whole backstory of who they've
talked to and what they did and it was premeditated.
I wonder how many times that they actually did
it in ignorance and didn't even know what they
did to you. And you've walked around and you
are imprisoned in a cage because you have not
forgiven them because how could they do that
to me? Right? And you're walking around in this
cage. You've imprisoned yourself in your own
unforgiveness. What does forgiveness do? Forgiveness
actually releases you. We think it's about them.
Oh, I can't forgive them. That's like me letting
them go. That's like them getting off scot -free.
No, you know what forgiveness does? It releases
you from the cage. Another way to put it is this,
that it's like setting down the poison. That
I'm no longer going to drink poison and expect
the other person to die. That's what unforgiveness
is, right? That I keep drinking this bitter unforgiveness
and I expect you to suffer for it. And what we've
been given is this moment by God that he goes,
no, no, no. You can forgive them and actually
release your own soul. You know what's crazy
about resentment? It's been proven that people
that hold on to resentments, meaning anger, bitterness,
unforgiveness, people that hold on to it, they
have more anxiety in their life. They have more
stress in their life. And on top of all that,
their physical health is in worse shape. All
by holding resentment. Why? Because you were
never meant to hold it. I mean, how many of you?
Come to church today. Hey, could you sign me
up? Like, where do I go to sign up for more anxiety,
more stress, and worse health? Oh, actually,
you just go into the lobby and sign up for our
unforgiveness list. You just choose not to forgive
them, and you'll be fine. You'll have more anxiety
and more stress. It's going to be great. You'll
have worse health. Nobody would choose that,
and yet what you've been given by God is the
same thing that Jesus has been given. The Father
forgives them. They don't know what they are.
Father, release them. And here's the thing. That
list we started with, in this moment, Jesus has
experienced it all worse than you ever will in
your life. And what is the model that he's laying
down for us? That you would what? Father, forgive
them. They knew what they were doing. You still
got to forgive them. I mean, it's pretty fascinating,
right? Because we're so fickle, you guys. We're
so fickle. You ever watch a little kid who's
figuring out that if they don't say sorry, they
have some kind of control? You ever see that?
Like, they're like, I'm not going to say sorry,
right? Then they're just holding it. I wonder
how God looks at us. We're now 65, and he's like,
oh, that's cute. I wonder how many times God
looks at us and goes, well, they're 65 and still
don't have it. Let's give them 30 more years.
I don't want to live to 95. I'm just telling
you. Like, if I can figure it out before then,
take me home. So many times we're caught up and
I'm choosing to harm myself by not giving forgiveness,
right? I'm choosing to harm myself. All because
I expect. I have expectations of you and how
you will act. I have expectations of you that
you are going to say those words, I am sorry.
Can I tell you what was happening for Jesus?
Verse 34, Jesus said, Father, forgive them. So
as he's saying it, they do not know what they're
doing. And, and what did the soldiers do? They
divided up his clothes by casting lots. As he
is forgiving them, the soldiers are going, we're
getting paid. How are we doing it? We're dividing
up his clothes. As they are being forgiven, they
are essentially continuing to mock him, continuing
to take advantage of him. Verse 35, the people
stood watching and the rulers even sneered at
him. They said he saved others, let him save
himself if, you wanna know the greatest gamble
in the Bible? It's in this word if, right? He
saved others if he is God's Messiah. Let him
save himself if he is God's Messiah. That's a
pretty big gamble. But what are they doing? They're
mocking him. So as he's there on the cross, Father,
forgive them. What are they doing back? They're
not saying sorry. In fact, they're continuing
the very actions that he's asking for forgiveness
for. It's continuing on, but that's not how this
works. Your soul being free is me with the Father
going, you know what? Forgive them because I
don't want to be held captive by what they're
doing. I don't want to be held captive by what
they're done, what's done to me. The soldiers
who hadn't had enough yet also came up and mocked
him. So the mocking is continuing. They offered
him wine vinegar and said, if, there's that if
again, that gamble, right? If you are the king
of the Jews, save yourself. There was a written
notice above him which read, this is the king
of the Jews. So not only are we verbally mocking
you, not only have we physically abused you,
but we've also put a sign over you so that anybody
come by can make fun of you as they go by too.
And what is Jesus' response? Father, forgive
them for they don't know what they're doing.
You know how silly I sound when I'm like, but
God, you don't know. He's like, I think I do.
I think I do. But God, this is such a big thing.
Like, yeah, I know. I know, son. It's a big thing.
But also experience more. Not to belittle yours,
but to show you that you can forgive even that.
A couple of quick thoughts on forgiveness. If
you're taking notes, the first one is this, that
you have to recognize and accept the pain. You
have to recognize and accept the pain. What I
mean by that is don't minimize the pain. Pain
is pain. And you are hurt, and that's okay. but
I can forgive and be in pain. Those are not mutually
exclusive. I can forgive and need to heal. We're
talking about that in our teaching prep this
week, that just because I forgive you doesn't
mean I don't have to go through this gradual
healing process, right? Like there's still healing
that needs to be done even if I forgive you in
the moment. But second thing would be this, that
a thought on forgiveness is you've got to choose
it. You have to choose to forgive. It's a choice
you make. You can choose to not give it and live
with the consequences, or you can choose to give
it and live with the consequences. I'm just saying
that if it's good enough for Jesus to forgive,
then it's good enough for me to forgive. If the
best way to live free is even in the midst of
people mistreating me, even in the midst of things
going wrong, the best way to live is to forgive,
then guess what? I'm going to forgive. And you
have the choice. The choice sits with you. The
next thing I would say is let go of expectations.
Let go of expectations. When you make the choice
to forgive, don't put any expectations on that
person to respond a specific way, to do certain
things, because they may continue to mock you.
They may continue to cause you pain. They may
continue to say things that hurt. And you just
have to know. You just have to know. It's not
about them. It's about me and God. And it's about
me and my standing and how I'm living my life.
And I'm not going to let you control my life
anymore. And so I choose to forgive. I let go
of the expectations of what you will do with
it. You have to release resentments. That means
the anger that you've been holding onto since
middle school because somebody mistreated you,
you gotta let it go. The nickname you were given
in high school, the broken marriage you experienced
as a young adult, you gotta let it go. You have
to release the resentment. Why? Because the resentment
is toxic to you. You were never meant to carry
it. And as you release resentment, it's your
choice, right? But it's gradual, you guys. It's
gradual. As you release resentment, as you choose
to forgive, it's not gonna be something that
is a one and done. It might be, praise God if
it is. But what it might mean is you sit in here
and you go, Father, forgive them. I'm releasing
it today. And you get to tomorrow morning and
you're like, why am I so spun up again? And you
have to go, Father, forgive them. I'm choosing
to put it down. And you get to lunch and you're
spinning again. Father, forgive them. Here's
what happens. It's a gradual process. And over
time, your soul changes. Your soul changes. Last
thought on forgiveness is this. Set healthy boundaries.
Just because you forgive does not mean you don't
set boundaries with that person in your life.
Just because you forgive, there's this lie out
there that, well, if you've forgiven, then everything
goes back to, no, it doesn't. No, it doesn't.
You get to set the boundaries. Boundaries are
healthy, and boundaries set expectations for
the relationship, and that makes the relationship
healthy, and so setting boundaries is appropriate.
One last thought. And first, Peter. Chapter two,
verse 21, Peter's writing to the church and he's
writing about suffering for doing good. And he
says, to this, to this, those of you that are
followers of Jesus, to this you were called.
You wanna know the calling on your life? One
of the callings? That you were called because
Christ suffered for you. So what Jesus suffered
for you, you were called to what? He left you
an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
What does it mean to be like Jesus? To look like
Jesus? To live like Jesus? It means that I follow
the example that Jesus set. What was the example
that Jesus set? That in the midst of being hurt,
Father, forgive them. I'm letting it go. And
so I got one question for you as you hold your
communion elements. Hopefully you got these on
the way in. I love that you're holding the representation
of the body and the blood of Jesus, the things
that purchased your forgiveness. This is why
you're free. It's what he's done for you. And
here's what I love about it, is as you sit in
this moment, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit
wants to have a conversation with you. Who do
you? need to forgive today. Before you leave
this room, here's the thing about church. Sometimes
we come in here and we think churches, we sing
some good songs, we get some encouragement, right?
Like, and then we leave here. That's all true.
But the way you're transformed, because that's
what this is supposed to be, is you practice
what we do. And so who, who, who, Do you need
to forgive today? As you hold the very thing
that has bought your forgiveness, a representation
of Jesus, who do you need to forgive? So the
next moments are yours, conversation with the
Holy Spirit, and then we'll take it all together.
When Jesus sat with his friends for that last
meal, I love that he took ordinary bread and
he knew, he knew, he knew what was coming. He
knew what his body would entail. That you realize
without his body, there was no place to put your
sin. That his body is what carried your sin,
your wrongdoing, the things that nobody knows
about. That his body carried them, carried your
sin, carried my sin, so that it could be nailed
to a cross, so that it could be beaten, and so
he could eventually die. And with his followers,
he goes, don't forget. Don't forget. And so whenever
you get together, get some bread. And remember,
I was here and I died for your freedom. And so
he handed him bread and he said, take, eat, do
this in remembrance of me. He took a cup of wine.
And he talks about how in his blood, there was
forgiveness for sins. You realize without Jesus
shedding his blood, you are not forgiven today.
But because we have a savior who went to the
cross, because we have a savior that bled the
cross red, you are forgiven. And the punishment
was laid on him that was yours. And so he took
wine and he goes, don't forget you guys. I have
to bleed. But in the midst of bleeding, Father,
forgive them because they don't know what they're
doing. And so he handed him a cup and he said,
take drink, do this in remembrance of me. God,
we are so grateful. Today, we just say thank
you. Thank you for being a God who has purchased
our forgiveness, has purchased our freedom. God,
that we sit here today completely forgiven so
that we in turn can forgive others. There's such
hope inside a message. There's such hope inside
a reality. That God, we do not have to live with
unforgiveness today because you are our living
hope. We stand firm on the foundation. That our
living hope, the person of Jesus, has conquered
death and brought life. And so we simply, in
an act of worship, say thank you. In an act of
worship, declare that you are our living hope.
In an act of worship, we release and we say,
Father, forgive them. Whether they knew it or
not, would you forgive them today? Thank you
for grace and mercy. Thank you for loving us
first. And everybody said, Amen.