WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.779 Hopefully what happens in this room is you have 00:00:03.779 --> 00:00:06.820 a conversation starter that lights a fire in 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:09.460 you that you leave here and it's lit such a fire 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:11.980 that it makes it to lunch, right? Because if 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:13.820 it makes it to lunch and you talk about it at 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:16.519 lunch or the drive home, there's a chance it'll 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.129 make it to your Monday. And if you have a conversation 00:00:19.129 --> 00:00:21.289 on Monday, there's a chance it just might make 00:00:21.289 --> 00:00:23.730 it to your life group. But the idea is that these 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:26.949 conversations we have in here, they matter, that 00:00:26.949 --> 00:00:29.870 they should start something in you that you now 00:00:29.870 --> 00:00:31.789 have a conversation with God, with the others 00:00:31.789 --> 00:00:34.229 around you, and you begin to grow out of that. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:37.200 And so last week we started this collection called 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.100 Last Words. What kind of summarizing Last Words 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:43.640 is this, that if you are God and you wait thousands 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:46.439 of years to show up in person, you show up in 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:48.899 human form, right? You've been showing up in 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:50.939 other forms the whole time, but now you're in 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:54.359 human form in the person of Jesus and you now 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:58.439 get nailed to a cross and you have seven statements 00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:02.100 left to say. They got to be pretty important 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:05.500 words. Right? Like you're on the cross and the 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:07.879 idea of the cross was that you suffocate, that 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:10.900 you run out of air. And what happens when you 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:13.439 speak is you're actually using air to do so. 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:17.159 So when Jesus is on the cross and he pushes himself 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:20.140 up and he is going to make a statement, I don't 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:22.219 know about you, but that seems like a pretty 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:25.459 important thing that Jesus is about to say. And 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:27.540 here's how this works. If it's important to Jesus, 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.109 it should be important to us. And so we're looking 00:01:30.109 --> 00:01:32.569 at those statements over these weeks going, what 00:01:32.569 --> 00:01:37.489 mattered to Jesus in those moments? Now this 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:42.109 week, we hit a different topic than last week. 00:01:42.189 --> 00:01:44.750 We hit a different conversation than last week. 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:47.590 But maybe a simple way to start it is this. Have 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:54.030 you ever, have you ever been hurt by another 00:01:54.030 --> 00:02:04.310 human being? Have you ever been mistreated by 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:11.129 another human being? Have you ever been falsely 00:02:11.129 --> 00:02:17.530 accused by another human being? Have you ever 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:22.650 not been listened to and discounted by another 00:02:22.650 --> 00:02:29.760 human being? Have you ever been isolated? And 00:02:29.760 --> 00:02:37.659 intentionally left out by people. Have you ever 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:46.340 been abused by someone else? Have you ever been 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:52.240 made fun of by someone else? If your answer is 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.319 no to that, then you clearly never went to middle 00:02:54.319 --> 00:03:01.039 school. I'm just saying. Here's the thing. One 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.259 thing we have in common is that's all of us. 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:09.319 You're not that unique. And that is painful to 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:12.939 say for an Enneagram 4, that you're not that 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:16.139 unique. How do I know that? Because you live 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:18.819 on a broken planet with broken people. And guess 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:21.879 what broken people do? They hurt one another. 00:03:22.509 --> 00:03:25.569 And so the chances are you were born, right? 00:03:25.669 --> 00:03:29.370 You lived in some form of human community. And 00:03:29.370 --> 00:03:31.189 inside of some of you were like, is there people 00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:33.530 that are raised by animals in here? Okay, so 00:03:33.530 --> 00:03:36.110 you were raised by a human community. And guess 00:03:36.110 --> 00:03:39.909 what happened? People hurt you. That's what people 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:45.629 do. That's what we do to one another. And what 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:48.289 I really care about today and what I really hope 00:03:48.289 --> 00:03:52.129 that you walk away with is what happens in the 00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:54.710 midst of those hurts. Because there are different 00:03:54.710 --> 00:03:58.990 responses. In fact, Jesus tells a story, tells 00:03:58.990 --> 00:04:02.810 a parable in Mark chapter 12. It says, Jesus 00:04:02.810 --> 00:04:05.729 then began to speak to them in parables. A man 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:08.310 planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, 00:04:08.330 --> 00:04:11.389 dug a pit for it, for the wine press, and built 00:04:11.389 --> 00:04:14.340 a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:18.060 some farmers and moved to another place. So I'm 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:20.500 not, never planted a vineyard. I'm fascinated 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:23.420 by it and understand that it is a lot of work, 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:25.560 that there's a lot of things that are temperamental 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.160 to it that you have to navigate to be able to 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.959 get that to grow, right? So within that, the 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:35.160 story's telling us that somebody else planted 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.459 the vineyard. They did the hard work of planting. 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:40.699 Then they did the hard work of the hard labor 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:44.660 of protecting by putting a wall around this vineyard. 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:48.240 And then on top of that, they dug a space for 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.339 the wine press, which is also incredibly difficult 00:04:51.339 --> 00:04:56.660 work. And then they dug a well and built a watchtower. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:01.120 Everything you needed to succeed. within the 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.459 vineyard, within producing a harvest, everything 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:09.040 had already been provided by somebody else. Then 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:12.319 that person rents it to this other person. Now, 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:14.560 the person walking in who, the farmer walking 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.040 in that it's been rented to, everything is done. 00:05:17.220 --> 00:05:20.100 All you gotta do is not mess it up, right? All 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:22.680 you gotta do is live inside of what's there and 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:24.939 it will produce fruit and produce a harvest. 00:05:25.860 --> 00:05:28.959 It carries on then in verse two, at harvest time. 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:32.610 The person that rented it, he sent a servant 00:05:32.610 --> 00:05:35.670 to the tenants to collect from them some of the 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:38.990 fruit of the vineyard. So again, like really, 00:05:39.050 --> 00:05:41.509 really natural part of the process. Wait, you 00:05:41.509 --> 00:05:44.029 had a great harvest. I'm going to send a servant 00:05:44.029 --> 00:05:46.430 and he's going to collect some of the fruit of 00:05:46.430 --> 00:05:48.430 that harvest. You're going to share essentially. 00:05:49.430 --> 00:05:52.009 Verse three, but they seized him. They seized 00:05:52.009 --> 00:05:55.490 the servant, beat him and sent him away empty 00:05:55.490 --> 00:05:58.639 handed. Then he sent another servant to them. 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:00.720 They struck this man on the head and treated 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:04.120 him shamefully. He sent still another, and that 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.319 one they killed. He sent many others, some of 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:09.800 them they beat, and others they killed. He had 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:15.439 one left to send, a son whom he loved. He sent 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:18.120 him last of all, saying, They will respect my 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:22.100 son. But the tenants said to one another, This 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:25.959 is the heir. Come, let's kill him and the inheritance 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:28.920 will be ours. So they took him out and killed 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.620 him and threw him out of the vineyard. What then 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:34.959 will the owner of the vineyard do? What then 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:37.779 will this man who's been completely mistreated, 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:42.899 gross injustice, what's going to happen? The 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.379 same story is captured in Matthew 21. And right 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:49.360 after that question, it says this. He, so this 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.920 is the crowd speaking, he will bring those wretches 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:55.920 to a wretched end, they replied. And he will 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:59.399 rent the vineyard to other tenants who will give 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:04.379 him his share of the crop at harvest. So response 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:06.600 number one to grave injustice. Response number 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:10.759 one to... The idea of someone harming you and 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:15.019 hurting you, mistreating you, and then going 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:17.560 to the point of actually killing those you love. 00:07:17.699 --> 00:07:20.459 Response number one is, man, those wretches better 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:23.660 get what they deserve, right? So now the religious 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:25.959 people are like, give them what they deserve. 00:07:26.180 --> 00:07:31.300 They deserve to die, right? What's fascinating 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:34.319 is if you follow this story further and you read 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.870 on. all of a sudden the people are like, yeah, 00:07:36.930 --> 00:07:39.209 they need to die and give it to someone else. 00:07:39.250 --> 00:07:41.990 They realize, oh, we are the people that have 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:45.350 been doing that. Because the story is about Israel. 00:07:45.810 --> 00:07:48.769 The story is about God who has given everything 00:07:48.769 --> 00:07:51.589 that is needed for a harvest and he gave it to 00:07:51.589 --> 00:07:54.529 this nation and he provided for them and they're 00:07:54.529 --> 00:07:56.730 wanting to take it from themselves. And so they're 00:07:56.730 --> 00:07:59.649 killing prophets and then eventually Jesus shows 00:07:59.649 --> 00:08:02.889 up. But isn't it fascinating that our response 00:08:02.889 --> 00:08:06.129 to being wronged, is they need to get theirs. 00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:09.589 Isn't it interesting that the natural response, 00:08:09.689 --> 00:08:11.970 even though we're broken and we hurt a whole 00:08:11.970 --> 00:08:15.230 bunch of people, the natural response is make 00:08:15.230 --> 00:08:21.050 sure they get what they deserve. We have a moment 00:08:21.050 --> 00:08:23.509 in Jesus's life where we get to see Jesus's response. 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:28.569 And in Mark chapter 15, the context is this, 00:08:28.649 --> 00:08:33.360 that Jesus has been on trial. And there's a moment 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.379 where what's common practice is they would release 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:39.820 a prisoner as a part of the celebration. And 00:08:39.820 --> 00:08:43.200 there's one prisoner, Barabbas, who is a known 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.759 criminal. And the governor is essentially going, 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:50.220 hey, you can have this bad guy or you can have 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:53.080 Jesus who I find nothing wrong with. What do 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:55.399 you want me to do? To which the crowd screams, 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:59.179 crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. Give us, 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:02.580 we want Jesus to be put to death. That's the 00:09:02.580 --> 00:09:04.700 last thing that's said, and then this happens. 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:11.940 Verse 16. The soldiers led Jesus away into the 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:16.039 palace, that is the praetorium, and called together 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:20.519 the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:24.539 robe on him, then twisted together a crown of 00:09:24.539 --> 00:09:28.899 thorns and set it on him. And they began to call 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:33.769 out to him, Hail! king of the Jews. Again and 00:09:33.769 --> 00:09:36.970 again, they struck him on the head with a staff 00:09:36.970 --> 00:09:41.169 and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they 00:09:41.169 --> 00:09:44.309 paid homage to him. And when they had mocked 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:48.070 him, they took off the purple robe and put his 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:52.450 own clothes on him and they led him out to crucify 00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:59.340 him. Just so we're clear, We're going to slow 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:02.840 down and understand what's actually happening. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:08.320 Because Jesus has now been led by soldiers into 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:10.799 what they call the Praetorium, which was the 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:15.059 center of the operations of the Romans. So sometimes 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:18.179 that was in the center of an encampment. Sometimes 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:21.740 that was in the palace, in the inmost part of 00:10:21.740 --> 00:10:26.259 the palace. But what scripture is telling us 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:29.460 is that Jesus is led away and he is led into 00:10:29.460 --> 00:10:33.820 the center of the enemy. That he is brought into 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:38.820 the center of what he is opposed to. And then 00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:43.000 it says that all of the soldiers come in. And 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.940 so now you have surrounding Jesus, you have these 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:52.139 Roman soldiers who were designed. By training 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:55.919 and through life, that they would inflict as 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:00.419 much pain as possible. That they were experts 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:03.659 in how to kill somebody. They were experts in 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:07.320 how to torture you. And so what we're told is 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.320 he's brought into the middle, he's isolated, 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:12.879 he's alone. And as he's in the middle of this 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:17.279 crowd then, it says that they take a purple robe 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:20.730 and they put it on him. Why purple? Purple had 00:11:20.730 --> 00:11:24.149 to do with royalty. What are they mimicking, 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:27.389 mocking in this moment is you said you're a king. 00:11:30.330 --> 00:11:32.929 You realize who's in the middle of them, you 00:11:32.929 --> 00:11:41.289 guys? This is God. So not just a king, the king. 00:11:43.450 --> 00:11:50.580 And he's in the middle being mocked. By his creation. 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.000 And so they put a robe on him. It says that they 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.500 twisted together a crown of thorns and set it 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.220 on him. That sounds so nice, doesn't it? That 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:04.419 they just set it on him. I don't think from everything 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:06.139 I know about Roman soldiers, they weren't that 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:09.139 gentle. But I also know this. If you've ever 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:11.580 been around a thorn bush, you don't have to press 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.659 in very hard for it to cut through your skin. 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:19.039 And so they take a crown. of thorns and they 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:24.159 place it on Jesus's head, which is one of the 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:26.980 most sensitive parts of your entire body, the 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:30.980 top of your head. And as the thorns begin to 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:36.399 sink in, blood begins to drip. It says, and they 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:38.620 began to call out to him, hail king of the Jews, 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.120 you have the robe, you have the crown, therefore 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:44.500 you are the king. And they begin to mock him. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:49.389 And can you imagine the noise? of an entire encampment 00:12:49.389 --> 00:12:54.029 of soldiers that are now making fun of the person 00:12:54.029 --> 00:13:02.370 in the middle. Again and again, they struck him 00:13:02.370 --> 00:13:07.789 on the head. Okay, when scripture says something 00:13:07.789 --> 00:13:12.830 twice, so when the words repeated again and again, 00:13:12.929 --> 00:13:16.509 it's emphasizing it. Because it needs us to get 00:13:16.509 --> 00:13:24.409 the emphasis again and again, repeatedly. Jesus 00:13:24.409 --> 00:13:26.990 is now struck where? On the head. Where's the 00:13:26.990 --> 00:13:31.029 crown of thorns? It's on his head. So what is 00:13:31.029 --> 00:13:33.730 happening is the staff comes down every single 00:13:33.730 --> 00:13:36.070 time. What is it hitting? The crown of thorns 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:39.070 that are being driven deeper into the scalp of 00:13:39.070 --> 00:13:44.570 Jesus. But again and again. And then it says, 00:13:44.809 --> 00:13:48.190 I struck him on the head with a staff and spit 00:13:48.190 --> 00:13:53.269 on him. Is there anything more degrading than 00:13:53.269 --> 00:13:56.169 when another human being chooses to spit into 00:13:56.169 --> 00:14:03.289 the face of another human being? I mean, we don't 00:14:03.289 --> 00:14:08.009 even accept that in things like football. Let 00:14:08.009 --> 00:14:11.970 alone God in human form now surrounded by soldiers 00:14:11.970 --> 00:14:15.110 that are all spitting on him as they are hitting 00:14:15.110 --> 00:14:20.190 him repetitively in the head. Falling on their 00:14:20.190 --> 00:14:23.190 knees, they paid homage to him. Again, just mocking 00:14:23.190 --> 00:14:27.129 him. When they had mocked him, they took off 00:14:27.129 --> 00:14:30.250 the purple robe and put on his own clothes, put 00:14:30.250 --> 00:14:33.590 his own clothes on him. Then they led him out 00:14:33.590 --> 00:14:39.049 to crucify him. The next part of the story we 00:14:39.049 --> 00:14:43.230 pick up on, we find Jesus on the cross. At this 00:14:43.230 --> 00:14:45.169 point, his back would have been torn open. There 00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:46.809 would have been blood dripping down the cross. 00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:49.590 The wood would have become stained red, so to 00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:52.149 speak. His arms would have been stretched out. 00:14:52.190 --> 00:14:54.649 The nails would have been impaled. His feet, 00:14:54.690 --> 00:14:59.700 similar. And now in this moment, in this moment, 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:02.740 with everything we just read, now on a cross, 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:06.039 which remember, on a cross, every single breath 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.899 you're fighting for. So at this point, for Jesus 00:15:08.899 --> 00:15:12.179 to speak, for Jesus to speak means that he is 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:17.480 physically having to do something to speak. And 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.000 instead of using his breath just to sustain life, 00:15:20.179 --> 00:15:24.399 he's now speaking specifically. and allowing 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:27.059 us to get an insight into what matters to Jesus 00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:30.419 and what matters to him matters to us. And in 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:35.220 chapter 23 of Luke, verse 34, it says this, Jesus 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:41.019 said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:46.379 what they are doing. You got the response of 00:15:46.379 --> 00:15:48.120 the religious leaders that are like, no, no, 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:51.960 no, make those wretches pay. You've got Jesus 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.659 who actually has the authority and the power 00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:57.539 and in that moment could have cooked everything 00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:02.440 and everyone all around the cross. That at one 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.019 point he goes, you know, I've got legions of 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:09.779 angels that can invade this moment. And by legions 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:11.559 of angels, I don't think they were little cherubs 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.840 that flew around with arrows. Like I think they're 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:17.379 terrifying. I think when you read scripture, 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:19.899 what's the natural response of humans to an angel? 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:23.639 Fear. So which is why the angel always says, 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:28.919 don't be afraid. Thanks, that helped. But the 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.259 beauty of this moment is you've got God in this 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:38.679 moment. What does he care about? Father. So it's 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:45.120 relational. He's in prayer. His relationship 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:48.000 with God in the midst of the cross, in the midst 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:50.460 of the suffering, in the midst of being mistreated, 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:53.059 what matters to him is his relationship with 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:58.360 the Father. And then he goes, Father, forgive 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:04.279 them. We were chatting this week on Tuesday in 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.359 our teaching prep meeting, and we were talking 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:10.859 about how it works for us, right? We pray and 00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:14.339 we're like, Father, forgive them. Because I know 00:17:14.339 --> 00:17:17.660 you'll get them later. Father, forgive them, 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:20.140 but I can't wait until your judgment hits them 00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:21.819 and they're going to get what they deserve, right? 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:24.680 Like we pray forgiveness, but we're actually 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:27.000 going, yeah, and you're going to get yours when 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:33.059 Jesus shows up. That's not what you see here. 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:40.160 It's not, it's not, Father, I want to forgive 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.180 them. No, it's not that. It's Father. Forgive 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:49.000 them. Remove judgment from them. Release them 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:53.900 from what they have done. This is a spiritual 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:57.140 conversation. I think we miss this so often when 00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:02.160 it comes to forgiveness. We think forgiveness 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:05.059 is about me and you, and it's about, oh, well, 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:09.400 if you say sorry, then I'll forgive you. That's 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.519 not how forgiveness works. That's not what you've 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:13.839 been set free to do. That's not why you've been 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:15.940 forgiven. You've been forgiven that you would 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:19.700 forgive. And the act of forgiveness for you is 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:24.680 between you and God to release. And here's what's 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:26.420 amazing, that as Jesus is there and he goes, 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.720 Father, forgive them, he's releasing them from 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:33.559 future judgment. I love that it says, Father, 00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:35.799 forgive them for they do not know what they are 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:41.920 doing. There's this ignorance and wrongdoings. 00:18:42.099 --> 00:18:44.519 You find it in scripture in Acts chapter three, 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:47.500 Acts chapter seven, Acts chapter 13. It's repeated, 00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:50.259 right? When the story is told of Jesus, it talks 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:52.480 about that there's a group of people that were 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:54.099 doing wrong that didn't know they were doing 00:18:54.099 --> 00:18:57.240 wrong, right? It's over and over in scripture 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.400 that you see that when somebody is involved in 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:02.519 wrongdoing, a lot of times it's in ignorance 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:05.180 and they don't even know they're doing it. I 00:19:05.180 --> 00:19:08.099 wonder how many times you're all spun up. We 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:10.579 get so spun up, right, that this person did it 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:13.680 and we've got this whole backstory of who they've 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:16.660 talked to and what they did and it was premeditated. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.980 I wonder how many times that they actually did 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:20.519 it in ignorance and didn't even know what they 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.400 did to you. And you've walked around and you 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.019 are imprisoned in a cage because you have not 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:27.900 forgiven them because how could they do that 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:30.750 to me? Right? And you're walking around in this 00:19:30.750 --> 00:19:33.410 cage. You've imprisoned yourself in your own 00:19:33.410 --> 00:19:35.990 unforgiveness. What does forgiveness do? Forgiveness 00:19:35.990 --> 00:19:39.970 actually releases you. We think it's about them. 00:19:39.990 --> 00:19:42.390 Oh, I can't forgive them. That's like me letting 00:19:42.390 --> 00:19:45.490 them go. That's like them getting off scot -free. 00:19:45.950 --> 00:19:49.269 No, you know what forgiveness does? It releases 00:19:49.269 --> 00:19:55.890 you from the cage. Another way to put it is this, 00:19:55.950 --> 00:19:59.190 that it's like setting down the poison. That 00:19:59.190 --> 00:20:01.410 I'm no longer going to drink poison and expect 00:20:01.410 --> 00:20:04.309 the other person to die. That's what unforgiveness 00:20:04.309 --> 00:20:07.309 is, right? That I keep drinking this bitter unforgiveness 00:20:07.309 --> 00:20:10.750 and I expect you to suffer for it. And what we've 00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:12.630 been given is this moment by God that he goes, 00:20:12.670 --> 00:20:15.089 no, no, no. You can forgive them and actually 00:20:15.089 --> 00:20:17.250 release your own soul. You know what's crazy 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:21.309 about resentment? It's been proven that people 00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:23.910 that hold on to resentments, meaning anger, bitterness, 00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:26.829 unforgiveness, people that hold on to it, they 00:20:26.829 --> 00:20:29.890 have more anxiety in their life. They have more 00:20:29.890 --> 00:20:34.369 stress in their life. And on top of all that, 00:20:34.569 --> 00:20:38.730 their physical health is in worse shape. All 00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:40.809 by holding resentment. Why? Because you were 00:20:40.809 --> 00:20:43.750 never meant to hold it. I mean, how many of you? 00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:45.940 Come to church today. Hey, could you sign me 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:48.880 up? Like, where do I go to sign up for more anxiety, 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:52.220 more stress, and worse health? Oh, actually, 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:54.039 you just go into the lobby and sign up for our 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.099 unforgiveness list. You just choose not to forgive 00:20:57.099 --> 00:20:59.859 them, and you'll be fine. You'll have more anxiety 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:01.619 and more stress. It's going to be great. You'll 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:05.319 have worse health. Nobody would choose that, 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:07.220 and yet what you've been given by God is the 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:09.660 same thing that Jesus has been given. The Father 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:12.640 forgives them. They don't know what they are. 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:24.160 Father, release them. And here's the thing. That 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:28.299 list we started with, in this moment, Jesus has 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:30.640 experienced it all worse than you ever will in 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:34.720 your life. And what is the model that he's laying 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:38.220 down for us? That you would what? Father, forgive 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:44.079 them. They knew what they were doing. You still 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:49.059 got to forgive them. I mean, it's pretty fascinating, 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:51.640 right? Because we're so fickle, you guys. We're 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:54.220 so fickle. You ever watch a little kid who's 00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:56.079 figuring out that if they don't say sorry, they 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:57.819 have some kind of control? You ever see that? 00:21:58.140 --> 00:21:59.980 Like, they're like, I'm not going to say sorry, 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:02.640 right? Then they're just holding it. I wonder 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.799 how God looks at us. We're now 65, and he's like, 00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:09.839 oh, that's cute. I wonder how many times God 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:11.640 looks at us and goes, well, they're 65 and still 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:13.339 don't have it. Let's give them 30 more years. 00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:15.619 I don't want to live to 95. I'm just telling 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:17.619 you. Like, if I can figure it out before then, 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:26.099 take me home. So many times we're caught up and 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:30.680 I'm choosing to harm myself by not giving forgiveness, 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:35.640 right? I'm choosing to harm myself. All because 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:38.789 I expect. I have expectations of you and how 00:22:38.789 --> 00:22:42.430 you will act. I have expectations of you that 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:44.950 you are going to say those words, I am sorry. 00:22:45.789 --> 00:22:47.549 Can I tell you what was happening for Jesus? 00:22:49.049 --> 00:22:51.250 Verse 34, Jesus said, Father, forgive them. So 00:22:51.250 --> 00:22:53.990 as he's saying it, they do not know what they're 00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:57.910 doing. And, and what did the soldiers do? They 00:22:57.910 --> 00:23:00.269 divided up his clothes by casting lots. As he 00:23:00.269 --> 00:23:02.509 is forgiving them, the soldiers are going, we're 00:23:02.509 --> 00:23:05.230 getting paid. How are we doing it? We're dividing 00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:09.240 up his clothes. As they are being forgiven, they 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:12.799 are essentially continuing to mock him, continuing 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:19.619 to take advantage of him. Verse 35, the people 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:23.660 stood watching and the rulers even sneered at 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:27.880 him. They said he saved others, let him save 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:31.559 himself if, you wanna know the greatest gamble 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:36.569 in the Bible? It's in this word if, right? He 00:23:36.569 --> 00:23:42.109 saved others if he is God's Messiah. Let him 00:23:42.109 --> 00:23:45.470 save himself if he is God's Messiah. That's a 00:23:45.470 --> 00:23:48.630 pretty big gamble. But what are they doing? They're 00:23:48.630 --> 00:23:51.809 mocking him. So as he's there on the cross, Father, 00:23:51.890 --> 00:23:54.250 forgive them. What are they doing back? They're 00:23:54.250 --> 00:23:57.109 not saying sorry. In fact, they're continuing 00:23:57.109 --> 00:23:59.470 the very actions that he's asking for forgiveness 00:23:59.470 --> 00:24:03.059 for. It's continuing on, but that's not how this 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:06.240 works. Your soul being free is me with the Father 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:08.440 going, you know what? Forgive them because I 00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:10.420 don't want to be held captive by what they're 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:12.740 doing. I don't want to be held captive by what 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:18.630 they're done, what's done to me. The soldiers 00:24:18.630 --> 00:24:21.230 who hadn't had enough yet also came up and mocked 00:24:21.230 --> 00:24:23.829 him. So the mocking is continuing. They offered 00:24:23.829 --> 00:24:26.529 him wine vinegar and said, if, there's that if 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:28.190 again, that gamble, right? If you are the king 00:24:28.190 --> 00:24:31.670 of the Jews, save yourself. There was a written 00:24:31.670 --> 00:24:33.910 notice above him which read, this is the king 00:24:33.910 --> 00:24:36.390 of the Jews. So not only are we verbally mocking 00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:38.990 you, not only have we physically abused you, 00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:41.569 but we've also put a sign over you so that anybody 00:24:41.569 --> 00:24:44.289 come by can make fun of you as they go by too. 00:24:45.330 --> 00:24:47.630 And what is Jesus' response? Father, forgive 00:24:47.630 --> 00:24:48.869 them for they don't know what they're doing. 00:24:52.349 --> 00:24:58.569 You know how silly I sound when I'm like, but 00:24:58.569 --> 00:25:01.589 God, you don't know. He's like, I think I do. 00:25:03.309 --> 00:25:07.569 I think I do. But God, this is such a big thing. 00:25:07.630 --> 00:25:11.109 Like, yeah, I know. I know, son. It's a big thing. 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:18.980 But also experience more. Not to belittle yours, 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:22.940 but to show you that you can forgive even that. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:29.099 A couple of quick thoughts on forgiveness. If 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:31.619 you're taking notes, the first one is this, that 00:25:31.619 --> 00:25:34.779 you have to recognize and accept the pain. You 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:36.240 have to recognize and accept the pain. What I 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.720 mean by that is don't minimize the pain. Pain 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:43.420 is pain. And you are hurt, and that's okay. but 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:48.779 I can forgive and be in pain. Those are not mutually 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:53.400 exclusive. I can forgive and need to heal. We're 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:54.960 talking about that in our teaching prep this 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:57.680 week, that just because I forgive you doesn't 00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:59.500 mean I don't have to go through this gradual 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:02.700 healing process, right? Like there's still healing 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:05.440 that needs to be done even if I forgive you in 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:07.559 the moment. But second thing would be this, that 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:09.900 a thought on forgiveness is you've got to choose 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:13.259 it. You have to choose to forgive. It's a choice 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:18.059 you make. You can choose to not give it and live 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.059 with the consequences, or you can choose to give 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:22.759 it and live with the consequences. I'm just saying 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.480 that if it's good enough for Jesus to forgive, 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:28.660 then it's good enough for me to forgive. If the 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:31.380 best way to live free is even in the midst of 00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:33.680 people mistreating me, even in the midst of things 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.319 going wrong, the best way to live is to forgive, 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:40.299 then guess what? I'm going to forgive. And you 00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:42.319 have the choice. The choice sits with you. The 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:43.920 next thing I would say is let go of expectations. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:47.299 Let go of expectations. When you make the choice 00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:49.859 to forgive, don't put any expectations on that 00:26:49.859 --> 00:26:52.599 person to respond a specific way, to do certain 00:26:52.599 --> 00:26:54.319 things, because they may continue to mock you. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:56.839 They may continue to cause you pain. They may 00:26:56.839 --> 00:26:59.099 continue to say things that hurt. And you just 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:01.200 have to know. You just have to know. It's not 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.099 about them. It's about me and God. And it's about 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:06.440 me and my standing and how I'm living my life. 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:08.140 And I'm not going to let you control my life 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:12.369 anymore. And so I choose to forgive. I let go 00:27:12.369 --> 00:27:14.069 of the expectations of what you will do with 00:27:14.069 --> 00:27:20.789 it. You have to release resentments. That means 00:27:20.789 --> 00:27:22.990 the anger that you've been holding onto since 00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:26.069 middle school because somebody mistreated you, 00:27:26.170 --> 00:27:30.309 you gotta let it go. The nickname you were given 00:27:30.309 --> 00:27:33.309 in high school, the broken marriage you experienced 00:27:33.309 --> 00:27:37.970 as a young adult, you gotta let it go. You have 00:27:37.970 --> 00:27:40.329 to release the resentment. Why? Because the resentment 00:27:40.329 --> 00:27:45.769 is toxic to you. You were never meant to carry 00:27:45.769 --> 00:27:56.250 it. And as you release resentment, it's your 00:27:56.250 --> 00:28:00.690 choice, right? But it's gradual, you guys. It's 00:28:00.690 --> 00:28:05.630 gradual. As you release resentment, as you choose 00:28:05.630 --> 00:28:10.000 to forgive, it's not gonna be something that 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:15.259 is a one and done. It might be, praise God if 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:18.160 it is. But what it might mean is you sit in here 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:21.019 and you go, Father, forgive them. I'm releasing 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:24.880 it today. And you get to tomorrow morning and 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:27.450 you're like, why am I so spun up again? And you 00:28:27.450 --> 00:28:29.430 have to go, Father, forgive them. I'm choosing 00:28:29.430 --> 00:28:31.990 to put it down. And you get to lunch and you're 00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:34.109 spinning again. Father, forgive them. Here's 00:28:34.109 --> 00:28:35.890 what happens. It's a gradual process. And over 00:28:35.890 --> 00:28:41.910 time, your soul changes. Your soul changes. Last 00:28:41.910 --> 00:28:46.009 thought on forgiveness is this. Set healthy boundaries. 00:28:47.369 --> 00:28:49.670 Just because you forgive does not mean you don't 00:28:49.670 --> 00:28:51.869 set boundaries with that person in your life. 00:28:52.009 --> 00:28:54.990 Just because you forgive, there's this lie out 00:28:54.990 --> 00:28:56.849 there that, well, if you've forgiven, then everything 00:28:56.849 --> 00:28:59.250 goes back to, no, it doesn't. No, it doesn't. 00:28:59.670 --> 00:29:01.630 You get to set the boundaries. Boundaries are 00:29:01.630 --> 00:29:04.390 healthy, and boundaries set expectations for 00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:06.589 the relationship, and that makes the relationship 00:29:06.589 --> 00:29:09.490 healthy, and so setting boundaries is appropriate. 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:19.059 One last thought. And first, Peter. Chapter two, 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:21.140 verse 21, Peter's writing to the church and he's 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:24.960 writing about suffering for doing good. And he 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:27.079 says, to this, to this, those of you that are 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:29.079 followers of Jesus, to this you were called. 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.279 You wanna know the calling on your life? One 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:35.759 of the callings? That you were called because 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:38.740 Christ suffered for you. So what Jesus suffered 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:42.380 for you, you were called to what? He left you 00:29:42.380 --> 00:29:45.900 an example that you should follow in his footsteps. 00:29:46.990 --> 00:29:50.049 What does it mean to be like Jesus? To look like 00:29:50.049 --> 00:29:52.890 Jesus? To live like Jesus? It means that I follow 00:29:52.890 --> 00:29:55.710 the example that Jesus set. What was the example 00:29:55.710 --> 00:29:58.569 that Jesus set? That in the midst of being hurt, 00:29:58.710 --> 00:30:02.529 Father, forgive them. I'm letting it go. And 00:30:02.529 --> 00:30:05.289 so I got one question for you as you hold your 00:30:05.289 --> 00:30:07.769 communion elements. Hopefully you got these on 00:30:07.769 --> 00:30:11.400 the way in. I love that you're holding the representation 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:14.779 of the body and the blood of Jesus, the things 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:18.819 that purchased your forgiveness. This is why 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:23.980 you're free. It's what he's done for you. And 00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:27.220 here's what I love about it, is as you sit in 00:30:27.220 --> 00:30:33.000 this moment, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:37.079 wants to have a conversation with you. Who do 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:42.740 you? need to forgive today. Before you leave 00:30:42.740 --> 00:30:44.240 this room, here's the thing about church. Sometimes 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:46.339 we come in here and we think churches, we sing 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:48.839 some good songs, we get some encouragement, right? 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:51.400 Like, and then we leave here. That's all true. 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:54.579 But the way you're transformed, because that's 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:56.380 what this is supposed to be, is you practice 00:30:56.380 --> 00:31:07.690 what we do. And so who, who, who, Do you need 00:31:07.690 --> 00:31:12.910 to forgive today? As you hold the very thing 00:31:12.910 --> 00:31:17.029 that has bought your forgiveness, a representation 00:31:17.029 --> 00:31:23.069 of Jesus, who do you need to forgive? So the 00:31:23.069 --> 00:31:26.170 next moments are yours, conversation with the 00:31:26.170 --> 00:31:27.589 Holy Spirit, and then we'll take it all together. 00:32:33.609 --> 00:32:36.049 When Jesus sat with his friends for that last 00:32:36.049 --> 00:32:43.670 meal, I love that he took ordinary bread and 00:32:43.670 --> 00:32:54.289 he knew, he knew, he knew what was coming. He 00:32:54.289 --> 00:32:58.750 knew what his body would entail. That you realize 00:32:58.750 --> 00:33:02.329 without his body, there was no place to put your 00:33:02.329 --> 00:33:07.650 sin. That his body is what carried your sin, 00:33:07.730 --> 00:33:09.950 your wrongdoing, the things that nobody knows 00:33:09.950 --> 00:33:17.930 about. That his body carried them, carried your 00:33:17.930 --> 00:33:21.769 sin, carried my sin, so that it could be nailed 00:33:21.769 --> 00:33:27.250 to a cross, so that it could be beaten, and so 00:33:27.250 --> 00:33:32.220 he could eventually die. And with his followers, 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:37.619 he goes, don't forget. Don't forget. And so whenever 00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:42.660 you get together, get some bread. And remember, 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:48.079 I was here and I died for your freedom. And so 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:49.779 he handed him bread and he said, take, eat, do 00:33:49.779 --> 00:34:00.480 this in remembrance of me. He took a cup of wine. 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:04.759 And he talks about how in his blood, there was 00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:09.039 forgiveness for sins. You realize without Jesus 00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:11.800 shedding his blood, you are not forgiven today. 00:34:12.579 --> 00:34:15.280 But because we have a savior who went to the 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.360 cross, because we have a savior that bled the 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:23.420 cross red, you are forgiven. And the punishment 00:34:23.420 --> 00:34:28.260 was laid on him that was yours. And so he took 00:34:28.260 --> 00:34:31.679 wine and he goes, don't forget you guys. I have 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:35.440 to bleed. But in the midst of bleeding, Father, 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:37.559 forgive them because they don't know what they're 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:40.800 doing. And so he handed him a cup and he said, 00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:47.440 take drink, do this in remembrance of me. God, 00:34:47.579 --> 00:34:50.860 we are so grateful. Today, we just say thank 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:54.460 you. Thank you for being a God who has purchased 00:34:54.460 --> 00:35:01.650 our forgiveness, has purchased our freedom. God, 00:35:01.670 --> 00:35:05.269 that we sit here today completely forgiven so 00:35:05.269 --> 00:35:09.130 that we in turn can forgive others. There's such 00:35:09.130 --> 00:35:13.030 hope inside a message. There's such hope inside 00:35:13.030 --> 00:35:20.309 a reality. That God, we do not have to live with 00:35:20.309 --> 00:35:23.750 unforgiveness today because you are our living 00:35:23.750 --> 00:35:31.199 hope. We stand firm on the foundation. That our 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:35.599 living hope, the person of Jesus, has conquered 00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:41.019 death and brought life. And so we simply, in 00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:43.880 an act of worship, say thank you. In an act of 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:46.480 worship, declare that you are our living hope. 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:52.239 In an act of worship, we release and we say, 00:35:52.260 --> 00:35:56.300 Father, forgive them. Whether they knew it or 00:35:56.300 --> 00:36:00.170 not, would you forgive them today? Thank you 00:36:00.170 --> 00:36:01.889 for grace and mercy. Thank you for loving us 00:36:01.889 --> 00:36:04.130 first. And everybody said, Amen.