Sermon Tone Analysis

By Pastor Glenn Pease

One of the greatest paradoxes of history is the story of the young English sailor by the name of Noble.

His job was to deliver a large cannon from Portsmouth, England to Boston in the Colonies in the mid 1700's.

After two days on the ship HMS INTREPID, they encountered heavy weather.

Ensign Noble hurriedly secured the cannon thinking these ropes should hold it, for it doesn't look like that much of a storm.

But he was wrong.

It was so intense that the cannon broke loose and began to rumble across the deck, and they could hear the sound of wood splintering below.

Ensign Noble came on deck just as the loose weapon was rolling toward two sailors who were busy trying to untangle some sails.

He threw himself in front of the cannon and stopped it before it hit its shipmates, but both his legs were broken by the weight of the cannon.

This is where the saying "Under the gun" came from.

The next day, the entire crew assembled for a special ceremony as the captain of the ship bestowed on ensign Noble his countries highest award for heroism.

He was in great pain as the cheers went up, and the captain pinned on the metal.

But then the captain called for silence, for he had a more solemn duty to perform.

Since the young ensign was the cause for the problem in the first place for not securing the cannon properly, the captain pronounced him guilty of dereliction of duty and sentenced him to die before a firing squad; the sentence to be carried out immediately.

He had just become a hero for saving lives, and then was shot for being guilty of endangering lives.

What a paradox!

He was a hero and a condemned criminal at the same time.

This same perplexing paradox confronts us as we look at the cross.

Is Jesus dying as our hero saving us from the consequences of sin? Yes he is, and that is why we glory in the cross.

On the other hand, is he dying because he deserved to die, and was actually guilty?

Look at the circumstantial evidence against Jesus.

1.

He was betrayed by one of his closest companions.

It is suspicious when one of your own inner circle betrays you.

It hints at something being known that is not available to the public.

2. The rest of his disciples fled and did not fight to release their master.

There seems to be great doubt about his claims when he is so treated by his core group.

3. The highest court in the land convicted him of blasphemy.

These were the most godly and learned leaders of Israel.

If they can't be trusted, who can?

4. The mob of common people chose a known murderer to be released instead of Jesus.

They wanted Barabbas set free and clamored for the crucifixion of Jesus.

Now this circumstantial evidence does not convince us because we know they were all blind, and Satan was pulling their strings.

They were mere puppets for the forces of evil in their sinister plot to kill the only truly innocent man whoever lived.

But then we come to the fourth word of Jesus on the cross, and we are shocked for it seems that God, the ultimate judge, has reviewed all of this evidence and agrees with the sentence.

The supreme court of the universe let's the lower court's judgment stand.

When Jesus cries out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me!"

He admits he has been forsaken by the one Person we expected to be his supporter to the end.

But God cast his vote with the rest and says, guilty.

How could his sinless Son be so godlessly guilty that he was worthy of the cross?

How can our Savior hero be abandoned as a guilty criminal?

The answer is, Jesus became our substitute.

He took our place and became as guilty as the sinners he died for.

Paul put it clearly in II Cor.

5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

What a paradox!

The sinless one becomes the very embodiment of sin, and thus, is worthy of all the judgment that sin deserves.

Jesus was, in fact, guilty of the sin of the whole world.

He was God-forsaken because he was the object of all God's wrath on sin.

He was worthy of all that sin deserved, and this means hell and total separation from God.

The greatest punishment of history was inflicted on Jesus because he was guilty.

He was as guilty as the sin he bore, and he bore the sins of the world.

You may never have owed anybody a dime in your life, but if you take on my debts and the debts of others, you are responsible to pay them.

Jesus never sinned, but when he took on your sin and mine, he was responsible to pay the penalty.

Innocent?

Yes!

But still as guilty as sin.

In the cross we have the perfect paradox, for we have two complete opposites, but both are true at the same time.

He was innocent and guilty.

All of this background explains the most mysterious words ever uttered by Jesus, which is the fourth word from the cross about being forsaken by God.

God forsaken by God!

The Son abandoned by the Father!

It can only make sense in the light of Jesus being made sin and becoming guilty for all the sin of the world.

Spurgeon said, "At that moment the finite soul of the man Christ Jesus came into awful contact with the infinite justice of God."

It was like two incompatible chemicals coming together that cause an explosion, and when the holiness of God confronted the soul bearing all the sin of the world, he was repulsed and abandoned that soul even though it was the soul of his own Son.

Had Jesus not suffered this abandonment he would not have paid for our sin, for that was the just penalty.

He had to drink the full cup of judgment, and drink it dry to the last drop or man would still have hell to pay.

Jesus could not atone for sin half way.

He had to go all the way or there was no point in going any of the way.

If you are going to build a bridge only half way across a river, you just as well not bother, for half a bridge is not an improvement over no bridge at all.

Half an atonement for sin would be equally worthless.

Had Jesus never been forsaken by God to endure hell for us, he never could have said the words, "It is finished."

What good would it be had he said, "It is half done?"

So this horrible word out of the heart of a terrorized Savior is, in fact, good news.

It is a paradox that such an awful experience can be the foundation for good news, but it is.

Because Jesus was forsaken we can count on his promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

He took all the forsakenness necessary, and now can assure all who come to him that they will never need to taste of hell and be God forsaken.

There is no need, for that penalty has been fully paid.

Because of Jesus, man owes nothing to the kingdom of darkness.

Hell is paid off, and man is debt free in Christ.

The fact that there was three hours of darkness before Jesus spoke this word reveals he had been in the darkness of hell, and the fact that his next word was, "I thirst" is symbolic of this as well.

The one request of the rich man in hell was for a drink of water, or even one drop.

Darkness and thirst are the two experiences of Jesus as he spoke these words.

He was God-forsaken in darkness, and He was thirsty.

Jesus was in hell for you and me.

Why did they nail him to Calvary's tree?

Why? Tell me, why was he there?

Jesus the Helper, the Healer, the Friend,

Why? Tell me, why was he there?

All my iniquities on him were laid,

He nailed them all to the tree;

Jesus the debt of my sin fully paid,

He paid the ransom for me.

And what was the price?

It was hell.

Is there hell on earth?

There was for Jesus, for in those three agonizing hours of darkness Jesus experienced literal hell, which is separation from God that leaves one absolutely alone.

This word is Jesus' Et tu Brute! as the Father joins all the others in forsaking him, leaving him to pay the penalty for the world's sin alone.

Hundreds of thousands of sermons have been preached on these words of despair, but no one pretends to be able to explain their depths fully, for we would have to go through hell ourselves to grasp them, and Jesus did this so we would never have to know or experience this depth of separation from God. Spurgeon says it for all the great preachers of history, "Well may I tell you that this unutterable darkness, this hiding of the Divine face, expresses more of the woes of Jesus than words can ever tell."

These three hours were the longest three hours of all history, for in them Jesus endured the eternal judgment on all sin.

If time goes fast when you are having fun, how slow it must go to get through three hours of God forsakenness.