Our Savior's Seven Sayings from the Cross part 1

Well, I enjoyed hearing you sing. Y'all were pretty lively in your worship. I have said this numerous times the way this sanctuary is architecturally designed. We can hear each other singing. You bless me. And you were really singing out on that last song. It was really loaded with truth, and I appreciate that song. I want to point out something that we were just singing together. It's the phrase, it's really the question, "Where is His grace and goodness known?" So many people look at so many other places to find that answer. Where is His grace and goodness known in our redeemer's blood? I hope you see that.

I hope you can answer that question properly. It really resonated with me. I appreciate that. Well, this morning we are beginning to turn our attention towards Easter. I have been teasing you for quite a while saying that we had an Easter series coming up, and I have said numerous times that I didn't know when we were going to start that. I did that for two reasons. First of all, I was wanting to make sure we were stopping our series in Ephesians at the right place.

And then also I knew that we were going to look at a body of information, and I wanted to make sure, I wanted to make sure we had the appropriate amount of time to cover what I wanted us to cover. So this morning we are here, and we're going to turn our attention towards Easter. Now think with me here. Easter is many things to us in our day. In many different ways, Easter is a cultural holiday, is it not? Easter is in many ways a cultural holiday. Some of you will get some time off of work for Easter. Our schools will take a day or two off for Easter. Some people even take a vacation during Easter or over the Easter weekend.

We can even see certain things in stores being specifically geared towards Easter. I will make a confession here. One of my favorite things about Easter is those little round robin eggs. Does anybody know what those are? I see somebody nodding their head. Yes, robin eggs. If somebody brings those into the house, I manage to eat them all rather quickly. And it's something about them at Easter season. Of course, there are some who debate if we should participate in certain things that are part of this cultural Easter holiday, but I'm not here to get into that debate. I'm not going to get off into that briar patch. I know people who do.

Of course, these matters pertain to our Christian conscience, and we need wisdom to know what to do in these areas. And we need balance, that word balance that I mentioned sometimes. But I think you see what I mean. Easter is a cultural holiday for us, and I do not think that all of that is bad. A day off from work and a day out of school is a good thing around Easter and the Easter weekend. But preeminently, Easter is a Christian holiday. Isn't that right? Preeminently, Easter is a Christian holiday. Easter is Christian in nature. And more than anything else, Easter should be Christian.

First and foremost, Easter should be Christian in our own personal lives. It should be Christian in our families, and it should be Christian in the life of the church. And we should make a concerted effort to make Easter what it should be, and that is a Christian holiday. So this morning, I want us to turn our attention to the spiritual, to the Christian, to the biblical aspect of Easter. Simply Easter is a time when the church and Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus after he was crucified. That's a very simple and easy to remember definition.

So as a church and a people, I want us to shift from our study in Ephesians towards Easter and I want to call us all to turn our spiritual attention and focus towards Easter and celebrate the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord. Now I've already alluded to this and mentioned this, but the question, how are we going to do this? Well, for the next three weeks, I want us to examine what is commonly called the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross. And then on Easter Sunday morning, we will examine the culmination of the crucifixion. That would be the resurrection.

So for three weeks, we will study the seven sayings of Jesus while he was on the cross. And then on Easter Sunday morning, we will study the resurrection. Some of you may or may not know this, but when Jesus was on the cross, he made seven statements, seven brief statements. And they are found in Matthew chapter 27. They are found in Luke chapter 23. We read those verses earlier. And then they are also found in John chapter 19. Now I always encourage you to study along with us in the message. And so you might want to write those chapters down. Matthew 27, Luke 23 and John 19.

Maybe it would be good for you over the next three weeks to just read those chapters a few times throughout the week, noting those sayings. They're easy to see and maybe meditating on those verses so as to get them in your mind and in your heart. Now before we get into the seven statements, I want us to examine a few things about the cross and the crucifixion. I want us to see four realities about the crucifixion that will set us up for these seven statements. And I will come back to these realities in many different ways throughout the message. First of all, the cross and the death of Christ was predetermined. You can say it like this.

The cross and the death of Christ was prearranged. The cross was predetermined. It was prearranged. These things were preplanned by God before time. Seeing and every detail concerning the cross was predetermined by God. Simply the crucifixion of Jesus was in no way a plan B. One verse that we all must have in our memory here, that would be Revelation chapter 13 verse 8. Revelation 13, 8 says that Jesus was the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world. So the crucifixion was God's plan all along. And then second, the death of Christ was natural. That might surprise some of you. The death of Christ on the cross was natural.

What I mean is this. Jesus' death was a real physical natural death. Acts 20 verse 28 says that Jesus purchased the church of God with his own blood or by spilling his own life's blood. Romans 2, 8 explains this natural physical death further by saying that Jesus was found in human form and he became obedient to death, even death on a cross. So Jesus' death was a natural physical death in every way. But third, the death of Christ was also unnatural. That might seem contradictory, but you need to follow me here. The death of Christ was also unnatural. Christ's death was an abnormal death.

The scriptures tell us that the wages of sin is death, but Christ had no sin. He was the righteous one suffering and dying for the unrighteous according to 1 Peter 3 18. "In his very being and behavior he was the holy one of God without blemish according to 1 Peter 1.19, yet he suffered and died in the place of the unrighteous." And so even in his physical death, death had no claim upon him, thus making his death an unnatural death. So Jesus' death was unnatural in every way. And then fourth, the death of Christ was supernatural. We need to see this.

The death of Christ was supernatural in all things and in every way Christ's life was supernatural. His birth was supernatural in that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. Hebrews 4.15 says that his life was supernatural in that he was in every respect tempted as we are, yet he was without sin. His death was supernatural in that no man took his life. John 10.17 and 18 tells us that no man took his life, but that Jesus willingly and purposefully laid down his own life and he had the authority to lay it down and take it up again. So Jesus' death was supernatural.

And understanding these realities about the crucifixion shows us the unique, miraculous, supernatural aspects of Christ's life and death. There never was another, nor will there ever be another death like the death of Christ. And again, we will come back to these realities and you will hear that throughout the message. But a question here, and I really want you to pay attention. Do you believe in the death of Christ on the cross and his resurrection? Do you? Do you believe in this predetermined, natural, yet unnatural and even supernatural life and death of Christ? Do you struggle to believe these things? Do you?

If you struggle to believe these things, you need to understand why. Now this is where I want you to turn over to Hebrews chapter 11. Now if you struggle following me with your ears and your mind and your heart, I'd rather you follow me and not look at your scripture. Many of you know what's going on in Hebrews chapter 11. It's the great faith chapter. It's the great hall of fame of faith. We know that term hall of fame. And it's a great chapter that gives us some great information about some great men and women of God. But I want you to notice what's going on in chapter 11. It's all about the faith of some very famous Godly people.

In verse 4 we see the faith of Abel. In verse 5 we see the faith of Enoch. In verse 7 we see the faith of Noah. And in verse 8 we see the faith of Abraham. And then in verse 11 we see the faith of Sarah. This would be Abraham's wife. Then in verse 17 we see more about the faith of Abraham. And in verse 20 we see the faith of Isaac. And then in verse 21 we see the faith of Jacob. And then in verse 22 we see the faith of Joseph. Then starting in verse 23 we see the faith of Moses' parents. And then starting in verse 24 we see the faith of Moses himself. And then in verse 29 we see the faith of the Israelites as they pass through the Red Sea.

And then notice it's like the writer of Hebrews doesn't have time. Maybe he ran out of pen and ink. But what does he say in verse 23? What more shall I say for time will fail me? And he goes on to say I do not have time to tell you of the faith of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Japheth and David and Samuel and all the prophets. Now what am I trying to show you? The writer of Hebrews says that all of these great men and women, because Moses' mother is mentioned here, they all live by faith. And notice what verse 6 says. This is what I want you to hear and hear well. Verse 6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him.

For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." And what I'm trying to show you is this, folks. We believe in the death and the resurrection of Christ by faith. And if you struggle to believe these things, it's not an information problem. It is a faith problem. I could sit down with you and I could take you through all of the information, biblical and extra-biblical. But if you do not believe these things, it is a faith problem. And notice verse 6 of Hebrews 11 says that you are not pleasing to God.

So I'm pausing in my message to ask you if you believe these things, and if you do not believe them by faith, you must see that you have a faith problem. So with these realities about the crucifixion of the death of Christ, in our minds we can turn our attention to the seven sayings by Jesus while he was on the cross, seeing and understanding the fact that Jesus' death was predetermined, natural and unnatural and supernatural, understanding these facts by faith allow us to turn our attention to these seven sayings. So first, the first saying of Jesus on the cross, Jesus offered a prayer of forgiveness. This is out of Luke chapter 23 verse 34.

Jesus offered a prayer of forgiveness. I want us to read that verse. You can listen if you would like rather than turn to your copy of God's Word. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." And they, this would be the Roman soldiers cast lights to divide up his garments. Now notice what's taking place here. Jesus had been taken before Pilate and Herod and he was condemned to die. He was being crucified along with two other criminals. And if we know the timeline of these events, we see that this is the first of the seven statements spoken by Jesus on the cross.

And if I remember my information properly, this was about 10 a.m. in the morning and this was a prayer for forgiveness. Now I want us to see more of what's happening in the prayer. There's a lot more here than maybe meets the eye. First this prayer was a prayer to his father. First this prayer was a prayer to his father. Jesus was praying and his prayer was offered to God the father. And notice the text could read, "My father." Now I'm not adding to the scripture, but it can read, "My father," meaning that Jesus wasn't making his plea to God, but to his father. You see, God was his father and he was the father's son, the only son.

This word father speaks to their relationship. His father had always been with him and he was doing his father's will as the beloved son. So Jesus was making his plea not just to God, but to his father. And I want you to note one word, the word relationship. So this prayer was a prayer to his father. And then second, this prayer, it was a prayer for forgiveness. That should be easy for you to see. This was a prayer for forgiveness. Now this prayer for forgiveness was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

Isaiah 53, verse 12 prophesied that the Messiah would make intercession for those who were guilty of putting him on the cross and putting him to death. But a question, was the plea for forgiveness for the Jews or was this plea for forgiveness for the Romans? Or was this plea for forgiveness for both? I think it's both and then some. See the Romans did not know what they were doing. They were simply executing a Jewish troublemaker. They were pacifying the Jews. Of course, Pilate did state that he saw no reason to condemn Jesus, but he did so to pacify the Jews. But the Jews certainly knew what they were doing.

They knew that he was innocent, but they chose to condemn an innocent man with no evidence of guilt. The Jews also knew the Old Testament scriptures, which told them of the coming Messiah. And they knew of the evidence that pointed to the fact that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. But notice what's going on here. Both the Romans and the Jews were guilty of putting Jesus to death, were they not? And they put him to death wrongly. But Jesus prays that the Father would forgive them. Jesus prays to the Father that he would put away or do away with their guilt for committing these sins and crimes against him.

So Jesus makes a plea to his Father asking that his Father would take away the guilt of those who were crucifying him. And then third, this prayer, this is a prayer in light of their ignorance. Third, this prayer, it is a prayer in light of their ignorance. Now notice an odd thing here. It almost seems like a contradiction. Jesus was asking his Father to forgive them, and this definitely implies and assigns guilt. He wouldn't ask for his Father to forgive them unless they were guilty. Isn't that right? Well, what does it mean when Jesus says that they do not know what they are doing?

He was saying that the things they were doing to him were done of ignorance, but their ignorance did not excuse their sin and their wrong. They were ignorant of the fact that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God. They were ignorant of the Old Testament prophecies about him. They were ignorant of the crimes they were committing against him by putting him to death. But this ignorance did not excuse their evil. It did not excuse their sin. All their actions were sinful. It's just that they were ignorant of the true reality of who Jesus was and what they were doing.

We see Peter say the very same thing as he was preaching to the Jews in Acts chapter three. In Acts chapter three verse 17, Peter tells the Jews that they acted in ignorance when they crucified Jesus and the religious leaders did as well. And notice, Jesus was using this ignorance as a reason why they should be forgiven and pardoned for their sin here. So this plea for their forgiveness is in light of their ignorance. Well then forth, this is a prayer in light of their guilt. Forth this is a prayer in light of their guilt. Even though they were ignorant and even though Jesus was making a great plea for forgiveness, they were guilty.

They were truly guilty of crucifying the Lord of glory. We see this in Peter again. Here when Peter declared to the Jews their guilt in killing Jesus. In Acts chapter three verse 15, Peter said to the Jews that they were guilty. They were guilty of killing the author of life. So they were guilty. So notice from the cross, we can see that Jesus offered a great prayer. He prayed to his father asking that he would pardon those who were crucifying him. Not that his father would pardon those off in the distant crowd. No, he was asking his father to pardon and to forgive the very ones who were crucifying him.

And in great compassion, he used their ignorance as a reason why they should be forgiven even while they were guilty. And again, I know that sounds contradictory. So we see here in this first statement from the cross, Jesus offered a plea and a prayer for forgiveness. Now before I move on to our savior second saying from the cross, I want us to see this forgiveness in three places in time. Take a step back from the verse and I want you to see this forgiveness in three places in time. First of all, in eternity past, any eternity past, the cross and the death of Christ was predetermined. Remember that term?

It was predetermined in eternity past. Every detail concerning the cross was prearranged by God. And so, so was this forgiveness. This forgiveness was prearranged by God as well. Forgiveness in and through the cross was in the heart and plant of God before the foundation of the world. God desired to forgive and redeem a people for himself. Remember forgiving and redeeming a people for himself was not some alternative plan derived after man sinned. No. Forgiveness from sin for men was in the heart of God all along before time and before human history. So, I want us to see forgiveness in eternity past.

But second, I want us to see forgiveness in time. In time. Forgiveness through the cross and the death of Christ Jesus was made known in time during these specific events. This forgiveness which had been planned in God's heart before time was then made known in time on the very day that Christ Jesus was crucified. And we must see that. God's eternal plan for forgiveness in Christ's death on the cross was made known. It was revealed on that very day. And then third, I want us to see this forgiveness in your day and in your time. I want to ask you a couple of questions here and I really want you to listen close. Are you converted to Christ?

Have you been born of God? You might say, Pastor, why do you say so often the phrase born again? Listen folks, the reason I say that you must be born again is because the Bible says you must be born again. And if you're not so sure about that, you can get over in the John chapter 3 and when a man named Nicodemus struggled with that reality, Jesus repeated it for him numerous times. I say that you must be born again because you must be born again. And so my question for you is this, have you been converted to Christ?

And listen, if you've been converted to Christ, whether you were 8 or 18 or 88, if you've been converted to Christ, there's been a time in your life when you've been forgiven. You've been forgiven. You've been forgiven. So you tell me, have you been forgiven? You know, we don't really have an open mic night. I say that tongue in cheek. I've come from churches that had open mic and usually that was open disaster. But little good was there, was far outweighed by the bad.

But my question for you is this, if you stood before the church, could you open your mouth, take the microphone and share about how you were converted to Christ and how you've been forgiven? Could you? In a small group setting, maybe you ladies, could you open up your mouth with peers, with ladies and could you explain how you came to Christ and could you explain how you've been forgiven? Men, if you were in a small group setting or even in a one on one setting, could you open up your mouth and declare how God saved you and how you've been forgiven?

Listen, if you are not converted to Christ, if you've not been born of God, you are still in your sin and you're not forgiven. You're still condemned. Listen, what I'm showing you is this, your lack of forgiveness is being revealed today in your time. And this forgiveness in Christ Jesus is being revealed for you in this day and this time. And think about that thief on the cross. This forgiveness was revealed in time, in his day and in his time. He was all arranged by God. And let me show you how big God is and how good God is. God's got you right here today and you're not converted to Christ and you're not forgiven.

The message of forgiveness has been declared to you in your day and in your time straight from the cross of Christ through the lips of this minister of the gospel. So notice, we should see the Easter is about forgiveness, not vacations, not new clothes, not gifts and not even candy. Now, are all those things wrong? No. But we must see preeminently, supremely that Easter is all about forgiveness. Listen to the verse again. When Jesus said, "Father, oh Father, would you forgive them?" They were gambling for his clothes while he was praying, folks. The men who nailed him to the cross were within sight.

"Father, oh Father, would you forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing." All while they cast lots were closed. So let's move on. I want us to see the second saying from the cross. This second saying from the cross. And that is the fact that Jesus offered a promise for salvation. Now we see this later on in Luke chapter 23. We've read all of these verses together in our scripture reading.

And he said, "Jesus," this will be the thief, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And then verse 43, "And Jesus said back to him, 'Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.'" Now if we know the timeline of these events, we know that this is the second of these seven statements. And I think this statement was made about 1 p.m. while Jesus was on the cross. And notice, Jesus was on the cross. He has been crucified, and he is still being crucified with a criminal on either side. One of the criminals was insulting and abusing Jesus, but not the other.

The other criminal rebuked the first criminal, and then he said, and I'm quoting from the verses, "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." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And in response, Jesus offered a promise of salvation to this humble, submissive criminal. Now I want us to see what's going on here in more detail with this promise. First, I want us to see this was a promise of truthfulness. First, this was a promise of truthfulness.

You could say the truthfulness of this promise was emphasized, and we see this in this word truly. Now the King James uses the word verily. Now this word truly, this word verily, it was placed at the beginning of this statement, and it emphasized the truthfulness of the statement. This word truly, it spoke of trust. It spoke of trustworthiness and truthfulness. At times, Jesus would even say truly, truly. He would even say truly, truly, because he wanted to emphasize the truthfulness and the trustworthiness of what he was about to say. In effect, what Jesus was saying in using this word was this.

It's like Jesus was saying, "What I'm about to tell you is truth. What I'm about to tell you is trustworthy. It is truthful." So Jesus was emphasizing the truthfulness and the trustworthiness of what he was about to say and to promise. I guess I think about it like this. Jesus should never have to, should have never had to emphasize his truthfulness, but he did it for man's sake. And second, I want us to see, this was a promise to a criminal. This was a promise to a criminal. Jesus made this promise to a criminal, not a respectable religious person, but to a common criminal.

In Luke 23, 41, this criminal confessed his guilt, and he said that he was getting the reward of his deeds. He was getting the punishment for his deeds. He admitted his guilt. And not only did he admit being a criminal, but he was convicted and punished as a criminal. All of the people, all the authorities saw him as guilty. They saw him as a criminal and deserving of death. So this man was a criminal in every way, and Jesus made this promise to a criminal. And then third, this was a promise of salvation. Now this word paradise can seem strange, but what Jesus was communicating was not.

This word paradise speaks of a garden of great happiness and pleasure. And as a matter of fact, it was used in extra biblical writing as well. Now this term garden of Eden in Genesis 2 can mean garden of pleasure. And some ancient translations of Genesis 2a call the garden of Eden, Eden by paradise. You might have run across some language like that before. But notice what Jesus was saying in this word. He was promising this criminal that he would be with him in that place of happiness and pleasure after death. And note this, Jesus did not say where this place was, but that he would be with him in a place of happiness.

Of course, we know that he was referring to heaven, but a question, how do we know this? Jesus said that he would be with him. Didn't he say that in the verse? And as a saved or redeemed person, this criminal would be with Jesus in paradise and for any saved and for any redeemed person to be with Jesus is to be in paradise. Simply to be with Jesus is to be happy. So Jesus promised this criminal salvation. And then fourth, this was a promise of salvation today. This was a promise of salvation today. On that day, that nameless faceless criminal would die and Jesus promised him that he would be with him in paradise that very day.

He was saying that they would not be still hanging on the cross, but in paradise on that day. Jesus promised this criminal that he is ultimate salvation would take place on that very day. And notice something here, folks. This promise invalidates two things that play so many. This promise invalidates two errors that haunt and have haunted people throughout the ages. First, this obliterates the Roman Catholic teaching of purgatory. This was not speaking of some kind of a holding place for the soul. He said today, he said today, he said today you will be with me in paradise in heaven with me.

And then second, this obliterates any kind of a work salvation. And notice other than professing Christ verbally, this converted criminal did no Christian works. He was not baptized. He did not give any of his monies to the church. He did not even climb down off the cross and associate with the believers. He did not even make restitution for his criminal deeds. And the way in which he was saved highlights the fact that Paul says in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, that it is by grace that we are saved, not of works. It is purely of grace, folks.

Also from the cross, we can see that Jesus offered a promise, not a promise to a religious man, not a promise to a righteous man, not even a promise to a respectable man, but to a convicted criminal who is hanging on the cross. This criminal wasn't like the other criminal. He was humble. He was submissive. There was something different about this criminal. Of course, we know what was taking place. We know why he was different. He was being drawn by the Holy Spirit of God. He was being drawn by the Spirit of God to the Savior. And upon his confession of Christ, Jesus promised him the ultimate in salvation on that very day.

So he offered a promise, a promise of salvation to a criminal. Now, just like with this forgiveness, I want us to see this salvation in three places. You might say, "Pastor, this is a little redundant." You need to listen and you need to hear this. First of all, in eternity past, the crucifixion of Jesus was prearranged in eternity past. Nothing was by accident. Nothing was by chance. Every detail concerning these things, they were prearranged by God for God's purposes and ultimately for His glory. And so was this salvation plan that was offered to this man and the men.

The salvation of men in and through the cross was in the heart and the plan of God before the foundation of the world. Again, these things were not some type of an alternative plan B. It was in the heart of God before time and before human history that he would offer salvation to men through Christ and his suffering on the cross. And then second in time, salvation through the cross and the death of Christ was made known in time, oh, specifically to that criminal on that very day and not just the criminal, but also to those who were hearing. How many were there within earshot?

This eternal salvation plan was made known in time during all of these events. It is as if this nameless, horrible criminal is exhibit A of God's salvation plan coming into time. This criminal sees his guilt. He sees who Jesus is. He confesses his sin and his guilt to Christ and oh, Christ promises him salvation. But then third in your day and in your time, have you experienced salvation? Again, if we were to have a microphone down front, if you were to give your testimony in small group, if you were to share with a group of two or three, could you say that you've experienced being converted to Christ? Is salvation real in your life?

Has salvation been imparted to you by the power and the work of the Holy Spirit? Now, let's pause here. What about this criminal? What did he know? What did he do? We know what he experienced. And that is the fact that the Holy Spirit of God did the miracle of miracles in his life whereby he saw his sin and he saw Christ and he professed. And so my question for you is this, how salvation been imparted to you by the power and the work of the Holy Spirit of God whereby you can say, I have been saved. From what? From myself. Can you say I've been saved from my sin, my sinfulness? I've been saved from me. You see, salvation is imparted.

It's given. Salvation is experienced. Salvation is the power of God unleashed in a life that makes a dead person alive in Christ. Ephesians chapter 2. And if you have not experienced salvation, you are still in your sin. You are not forgiven and you do not have this salvation that was promised. And notice we should see that Easter is about salvation. That's not a Baptist term, folks. It's about salvation. Not a new Easter Sunday outfit. Not even a vacation day that you might get to have with your family and there's nothing wrong with that. Easter is about salvation being offered to men. And what does the text say? And he said to him, truly?

Notice, Jesus is emphasizing the truthfulness of what he is about to say. This common criminal has rebuked the other criminal and he's turned by faith to Jesus humbly in great submission. And he's saying, we are getting what we deserve. And he looks at Jesus and he says, would you just remember me? See folks, you don't have to have the magic words to be converted to Christ. All you have to do is cry out as the spirit enables you and calls you. What does he say? Back? Jesus in return, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Today I had the privilege of going to a funeral, something sobering about a funeral folks.

The body's there, the family's there. You celebrate life, good things. You can celebrate work, career, family, parents, upbringing. But you know, when that body is there, they've not been forgiven if they've not experienced this salvation, it's too late. It's very sobering. And this criminal was facing death. It was imminent. And what does Jesus say? Today you will be with me in paradise. Now as I begin to conclude our message this morning, notice what is before us. God gives us seven sayings of our savior from the cross. And it's all about Easter.

Specifically this prayer of forgiveness and this promise of salvation is what the crucifixion is all about. Second Corinthians 5, 19 says that in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, by counting their sins, their trespasses against them. Now what does that mean? God the father through Christ the son, his crucifixion and his resurrection, he, God the father, is offering forgiveness and salvation to men through the son. And that's what Easter is all about. Now a question and application and then I'll pray and I'll close out the message. Here's the question.

How do we make Easter, this Easter season, about these two words, forgiveness and salvation? How do we do that? Three things come to mind. First by personally reflecting on the forgiveness we experience and are experiencing. By reflecting on the salvation that we possess that's been given to us, see it's all about worship. We just take the time. We get up a little earlier, we stay up later. We go into our closet and we close the door. See it's about time. It's about worship. It's about coming before God in worship. For one thing, to express our thankfulness for the forgiveness and the salvation that we have in our own lives.

Could it be that this Easter season we should just come to the Lord, come to the Lord in private, taking an extended period of time and just worshiping Him for those two things, the forgiveness that you have in Christ Jesus and the salvation that He's given you. You see folks, Easter should be about us truly worshiping our God for the forgiveness that He's given and the salvation that He's given. But also by talking about Christ, by talking about Christ and the cross and His forgiveness and our salvation in our home. By talking about His salvation in our families with our children.

This should be the topic of our conversation in our home as we eat together, as we're driving down the road, when we get up and when we go to bed. So this Easter should be about us talking about these things with our spouse and with our children. And see, I want you to notice this becomes evangelistic. Because if our sons and our daughters have not experienced these things, we begin to express how we have experienced these things and then we begin to press them of their need for Christ, their need for Christ. So this Easter should be about us talking, just talking about these things in our home.

And then third or last, by sharing forgiveness, by sharing salvation with those who are lost, our neighbors. We learned of our neighbors this past Wednesday night in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our neighbors, our neighbors. We have so many neighbors who are broken, bloody, naked, bruised, and on the side of road of life and they need forgiveness. Our neighbors need salvation. They need Jesus. They need to come to faith in Christ. Who's going to tell them about Easter and what Easter is all about? Who's going to share with them the true meaning of Easter? And that is Christ came to do what?

To forgive and to grant salvation in Jesus' name. Now notice the title of the message. It's a little lengthy. Our Savior's seven sayings from the cross can be a tongue twister. But it's two things. He offered a prayer of forgiveness and he offered a promise of salvation.