Saying "Yes" To God's Best (audio sermon)

THE "IF" OF GOD

The “if” of God, is a question about your willingness to be obedient to God’s requests. While Satan plants doubt concerning God’s promises and the human mind questions God’s willingness, God’s “if” is based upon your obedience. At times an “if” plays an important role in receiving a from God.

The “if” of God is always a condition we meet to receive the blessings promised us. The covenant we have with God contains promises and conditions. Hearing the Word is the first condition. Believing the Word is second condition. Acting upon the Word is third condition. Obedience to the Word is the final condition.

At times, it may seem foolish to the flesh and to some Christians when we act out our obedience and do what the Lord commands us to do. However, God loves and honors our obedience.

The “If” of Man

A diseased leper who came to Christ took a great risk when he did so. Leprosy was considered contagious, and Jewish law said a leper had to stand one hundred to three hundred paces away from a clean person, depending upon the direction of the wind. On this occasion, the leper fell at Jesus’s feet and said, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean" (Luke 5:12). In response, Jesus removed the “if” and said, "I will; be clean" (Luke 5:13).

Jesus removed the “if” of doubt, and the leper was immediately made whole! The “if” of man is connected to knowing the will of God. Satan’s “if” attempts to make a person doubt the promises of God, but the human “if” begins to doubt the willingness of God to perform what He has spoken. It does little good to believe that God can if you do not believe that God will. Think for a moment. God can save the lost, but will God save your family? God can baptize believers in the Holy Spirit, but will God baptize you in the Holy Spirit? God can heal, but will God heal you? The “if” of man questions the willingness of God to perform His promises.

The "If" of Satan

Have you ever head the saying, "If" is the largest word in the dictionary"?  It is a pretty big word in the Bible also.  It is used 1,541 times in the KJV. The word can mean, "In the event that, granting that, or on the conditions that."

There are three areas where the word "if" is very significant.

1.  The "If" of Satan
2.  The "If" of Man
3.  The "If" of God

Let's look at the "If" of Satan today.

During his temptation of Jesus he used the word if twice. In each case he was trying to create unbelief  in Christ's mind concerning His relationship with God. Satan was demanding that Jesus prove He was the Son of God.

"And the tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread" (Matthew 4:3)

" And said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written,
‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’ and In their hands they shall lift you up,
lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:6).

The "if" of Satan is designed to cause you to question the Word of God. When things are falling apart people have such questions in their mind such as, "If God loves me, why is this happening to me?" Or "If God answers pray, why hasn't he answered mine yet?"  Some question why they are not healed or why is some family member not saved yet.

When your adversary the devil brings an "if" to your mind he is trying to plant a seed of doubt toward the promises of God's goodness and faithfulness.

The Temple and Your Priestly Responsibility

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy. And you are His temple" (I Corinthians 3:16-17).

God wanted a mobile temple.  The physical body of the believer is now the temple of His Holy Spirit.  There was three parts to the temple just like there are three parts to man.

The Temple in Jersalem.                           The Human Body
The outer court                                           The body (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
The inner court.                                          The soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
The Holy of Holies.                                    The spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Part of our priestly responsibility is to keep both the outer and inner parts in good repair. We have to be careful of what we let enter into our temple.  Things enter into our soul through various gates...eye gate, ear gate.  Somethings enter our body through the mouth gate.  Sometimes it's not what we eat but what eats us.  Unforgiveness is a huge problem even amount Christians.  I believe it causes disease (the body, soul, and spirit to be in turmoil and unable to be at ease). A sickness can enter into the body and now we try to cure a sickness or disease by medicine when it requires a surgery of forgiveness, prayer, and confession.

Remember, your body is God's Temple.

The Priesthood of the Believer (Part 2)

It has always been God's intention to have a kingdom of priests. "And you will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). Israel has not become this yet because of their idolatry, but God did not abandon the idea. Through Peter He said to the church, " But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may declare the goodness of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

In John's revelation here is how he described Christ in heaven, "I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks was one like a Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and with a golden sash wrapped around the chest" (Revelation 1:12-13).  John was seeing Christ as the heavenly High Priest.  This is when John reveals that we are a kingdom of priests.  Revelation 1:5-6, as the Greek renders it, says that we are not just priests but a kingdom of priests.

As a personal priest we can bodily approach the heavenly Temple with our petitions.  We can offer up spiritual sacrifices, gifts, and thanksgiving.

The Priesthood of the Believer

Part 1 The Process Begins

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

In ancient Israel God established an earthly priesthood to receive tithe, offer sacrifices, oversee the tabernacle and later both Jewish temples in Jerusalem, and stand as a bridge linking heaven and Earth, God and man.

In ancient Israel God established an earthly priesthood to receive tithe, offer sacrifices, oversee the tabernacle and later both Jewish temples in Jerusalem, and stand as a bridge linking heaven and Earth, God and man.

However, the true priesthood was transferred long before A.D. 70, and the process began when Jesus, at age thirty, stepped into the Jordan River to be baptized. John the Baptist, the cousin of Christ, was the son of a priest named Zacharias who served in the temple in Jerusalem. John was baptizing believers at the Jordan River in an area called Bethabara.

This was the same location where, fifteen hundred years earlier, Joshua had crossed the Jordan River and instructed the Hebrews to take twelve smooth stones out of the Jordan River and build a monument on the Israel side of the river as a memorial and reminder that God opened the Jordan River for them to cross. The priest also lifted twelve stones from the wilderness and placed these in the dried riverbed. That day the water from the Jordan River was rolled back all the way to a city called Adam, at least ten miles away and south toward the Dead Sea.

The area where Joshua crossed is the same area where John baptized Jesus, and it has powerful prophetic significance. When a high priest was preparing to transfer the priesthood to his son, there was a threefold procedure:

1. The high priest’s son had to submerge in water for purification (Lev. 8:6).
2. The holy oil was to be poured upon the head of the high priest’s son (Lev. 8:12).
3. The high priest had to publicly declare that this was his son (Num. 20:28).

This three-part process occurred when Christ waded into the Jordan River. Christ stepped into the same area where Joshua had crossed. Joshua’s Hebrew name was Yeshuah, and Jesus’s actual Hebrew name is Yeshuah.

In Joshua’s time, the waters of the Jordan were rolled back to the city of Adam, just as Christ’s redemptive work removed mankind’s sins all the way back to the first man, Adam. When Christ stepped into the cold waters of the Jordan, He was being recognized by John, who was the son of a Jewish priest. Christ was not being baptized for the remission of sins because He was sinless. There is a deeper meaning to this baptism. Christ was thirty years of age—the same age that a Levite entered the priesthood (Num. 4:30).

Little did Israel know that the priesthood in Jerusalem was being transferred to one man—Jesus Christ! That pattern is seen in His baptism.

1. Christ was baptized in water, symbolic of preparation for the priesthood.
2. The Spirit descended upon Him like a dove; this was the anointing (Matt. 3:16).
3. God spoke from heaven, declaring that Jesus was His son (Matt. 3:17).

Mysteries In the Garden (Part 3)

It is not coincidence that Jesus chose three men out of the twelve that night in the garden. His three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, each have a character trait that resembles atonement of the body, soul, and spirit.

Peter represented emotional atonement, James bodily and atonement, and John spiritual atonement.

Let's look at Peter first.  He continually needed a healing of emotions.  Before Peter received the Holy Spirit, he was brash, arrogant, and self centered.  Peter rebuked Christ for saying He was going to die In Jerusalem.  He was adamant that he would never deny Him, but had little confidence that others would follow his strong stance. To prove his loyalty the free swinging Peter took out his sword and whacked off the ear of the High Priest's servant. Hours later, however, his burning passion turned cold when he denied the Lord three times. To prove his point, he even cursed. Peter was emotionally unstable at times. Peter is a picture of one who loves Chrit but is on an emotional roller coaster and needs stability.

James, the second person in this inner circle, gives the details of the physical or bodily atonement. James gives the details of what a person should do when they are sick.  “Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. ‭‭James‬ ‭5:14-16‬ ‭MEV‬‬ This passage deals more with physical healing than spiritual healing.  Notice how confessing your faults to one another is connected to physical healing.

The third disciple was John.  John's gospel gives the clearest message on the suffering of Christ and His redeeming work on the cross,  We usually direct new converts to the gospel of John for this very reason.  John stood at the foot of the cross while the others were hiding in fear.  He focused on the spiritual atonement of mankind.

Jesus completed a three fold of atonement for mankind from the whipping post to the cross.  The stripes in His back were for my physical healing.  The crown of thorns on His head were for my mental and emotional well being. His death on the cross brought a death blow to sin and brought eternal life to my spirit.

Mysteries In The Garden (Part 2)

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 THESSALONIANS 5:23

The physical body can become sick, the soul (mind) can experience negative emotions, and the human spirit can become tainted by sin through disobedience to God’s Word. The atonement sets out to redeem the spirit, renew the soul, and restore or heal the body, causing a person to become whole or complete in Christ.

Isaiah breaks down how the sufferings of the Messiah will impact the tripartite nature of mankind:

1. The atonement of the body

Isaiah prophesied that, “With his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Isaiah looks forward to the atoning work of the Messiah. Peter, however, looks back at the finished work of the cross and proclaims, “By whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).

2. The atonement of the soul

Isaiah revealed the atonement for the soul when he wrote, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Christ was also oppressed and afflicted (v. 7). Oppression, sorrow, and grief are all emotions that can wreck havoc on the emotions and minds of believers. Yet Christ carried sorrow and grief to the cross on our behalf.

3. The atonement of the spirit

The prophet then revealed that the Christ would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (Isa. 53:5). In verse 10 he wrote, “Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” Sin is a spiritual disease that eats away at man’s spirit. Christ’s ultimate goal was to redeem the spirit of a person and impart the gift of eternal life.

Isaiah sums up the sufferings of the Messiah in the last two verses of Isaiah 53: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. —ISAIAH 53:11–12

Mysteries In the Garden Part 1

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. —1 CORINTHIANS 15:45

In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam was not born through a normal birth process, and neither was the second Adam, Jesus Christ. The first Adam was formed from dust, and the second Adam was formed in the womb of a virgin (Gen. 2:7; Luke 1:27–31). The first Adam was perfect before the Fall, and the second Adam was sinless throughout this life (2 Cor. 5:21). The first Adam fell into sin while living in a garden, and the second Adam had the sins of the world placed upon him in a garden called Gethsemane. At the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the first Adam experienced death, and at a tree called a cross the second Adam experienced death. But through the cross, the second Adam conquered death, hell, and the grave and is alive forever more (Rev. 1:18). Eternal death began in a garden, and the plan of redemption began near the temple in Jerusalem, in a garden called Gethsemane.

There is a powerful mystery surrounding that fateful night of destiny in Gethsemane. It was in this very garden where Christ revealed to Nicodemus that, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so He (Christ) would be lifted up (on the cross) to draw all men to Him (John 3:14). The story of the brass serpent in Numbers 21:2–9 is an amazing picture of the redemptive work of Christ. Israel had sinned and was bitten by serpents. As people lay dying, Moses constructed a brass serpent on a pole. All who looked to the brass snake lived!

God chose a brass serpent to represent Christ, since brass represents humanity and the serpent represents sin. Christ became man and bore our sins on the tree!

“FATHER INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”

Adrian Rogers said that the only man made thing in heaven will be the scars in the hands, feet, and side of Jesus.  What better way to die than in the perfect hands of the Father and now for us, in Jesus.

The mouth that spoke as never a mere man spoke became silent. The heart that never beat except in love was stilled. JESUS DIED! But as we read in the Scriptures a moment ago, before He did in His seventh saying from the cross, He committed His spirit to God for safe-keeping. Now, was Jesus merely whistling in the dark? I mean, did it do any good for Him to say, “Father into THY hands I commit My Spirit.”

Well, the Resurrection gives us the answer. Because on the 3rd day, God raised Him Who was truly and really dead and now He lives forever and He offers us eternal life as well. So you see, because of the cross, death no longer terrifies us. Now we know that for Christians death is just a gateway to heaven. 

“IT IS FINISHED”

These THREE words in English were only ONE word in the original Greek and that word was, “TETELESTAI.” 

It means, “To bring to an end, to accomplish, to complete.” 

It was used in that day of a servant reporting back to his master.  In other words, what you gave me to do, I accomplished. 

It was used after running a race.  A person would cross the finish line and say, “It is finished.” 

It was most commonly used in paying bills. A bill would be stamped with that word meaning, "Paid in full.".

When Jesus uttered this, there was no precise subject for it.  The word “it” just kind of embodies the whole scope of redemption. 

One thing important to remember is, Jesus didn’t say, “I’m finished.”  It was not the end of Him but the beginning of a whole new chapter of life. It is the most triumphant cry in all of human history. 

It is in the perfect tense.  That is when something happened that still holds good.  Jesus cried out, “It is finished and it is forever finished.” In other words, “This work that I have done will hold good for eternity.” 

What was finished?

His suffering

His sacrifice

Jesus took my bankruptcy and covered it with His solvency.  Jesus didn’t just make the down payment and then make us make the installment payments the rest of our life.  Jesus paid it all. The wages of sin is death but Jesus paid the last cent of the wages of sin.

How do we know that the price was paid in full and that the Father accept it? We have self-satisfaction by self-substitution.  God satisfied Himself by substituting Himself.  I know that is complex but nevertheless true. The resurrection is the receipt for the payment…that God accepted it.  The father also accepted Jesus back in heaven.  

All of our sin is paid for.  Nobody needs to carry the guilt of sin.  We cannot add anything because it is paid in full.  All we do is believe, trust and rest in what he has done for us. In actuality I am stacking my eternal destiny on that one word. “TETELESTAI!” 

“I THIRST”

Jesus was enduring extreme dehydration.  It began in Gethsemane when Jesus in great anguish sweat drops of blood.

The Creator was on cross.  The One who made the rivers and oceans is thirsty.  The water of life is thirsty.

What does this tell us? What does it speak to us of?

The humanity of Jesus

We are tempted to forget or minimize His humanity.  He was the God-man. He fully entered into our world. He began His ministry fasting.  The Bread of life was fasting in the wilderness.  Then He ends His life thirsting.  The Bread of Life is hungry at the beginning and the Water of Life thirsty at the end.

The submission of Jesus

This shows Jesus submitting to the word and will of God.  He knew that all thing were accomplished.  But He said this to fulfill the Scripture. Psalm 69:21 (KJV) They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

The substitution of Jesus

He suffered with parched lips so we might be able to drink from the well of salvation. He suffered the raging fires of hell for us so that its fires might be quenched for us.  I think His physical thirst pictures our spiritual thirst and His death as the means of quenching that thirst.  Hell is a place of unquenchable thirst.  As Jesus thirsted there on the cross, He bore that for us so that we can drink forever of the well of salvation. 

The issue is not will we thirst.  We are all born into this world thirsty.  The question is, “How long will we thirst?”  The soul of man has an inexhaustible thirst. Only Jesus can quench this thirst. As He said to to woman at the well: If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.

Jesus drank from the cup of death so that we could drink from the cup of life.  He drank the cup of wrath so that we could drink the cup of blessing.  Take a drink of living water now and you will enjoy it forever. The final invitation in the Bible is Revelation 22:17 (KJV) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.   The only qualification is if you are thirsty.  Those who come to the One who was once thirsty, never ever have to thirst again.  

"MY God, My God why hast thou forsaken Me?"

In the garden, the first Adam forsook God. On the cross, the second Adam is forsaken by God to redeem for Himself the fallen sons of Adam.  However, this Father’s forsaking was not one of unfaithfulness but of justice and to accomplish a greater purpose.

Additionally, the second Adam took on the first Adam’s nakedness and shame so Adam’s fallen seed could one day be redeemed, and clothed in righteousness.

Jesus addressed God in this moment. He spoke to His Father three times from the Cross. Two of those times, Jesus called Him, “Father” but not this time. No, here Jesus calls Him “God.” It’s as if you were to walk up to your father and address Him as “Mister” rather than “Dad” or “Daddy.” So there IS a separation-an alienation here. God has forsaken-DESERTED-His Son.

Jesus said those words so that you wouldn’t have to. Jesus cried out, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me” so that those very words would never have to be spoken by you. And you know, I think this is the greatest thing about being a Christian-I am never forsaken by God. I am never alone. He is always with me. 

"Mother Behold Your Son"

"WOMAN BEHOLD THY SON…DISCIPLE BEHOLD THY MOTHER"

She who had delivered Him was being delivered by Him. The fruit of her womb becomes the Firstfruits of all creation.

How significant that the God-man hangs as a mediator between His heavenly Father and His earthly mother.  Mary’s eldest heir dies to make her one of the joint heirs with Christ.  Because the son died, the mother lives to become a daughter of the Father, who sent His Son to be the Savior.

Mary lost a son who died to save the lost.  Now while dying He gives His mother another son who will lead many lost to salvation.

As Christ fulfills His Levitical role as firstborn son to dispatch care for His mother, so John fulfills his role as a born again son in his care for the widow.  

Jesus' Words To The Dying Thief

"VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, TODAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE"

The three crosses represent the state of all men: the unredeemed, the redeemed, and the Redeemer. The Savior, the saint, the sinner.

Just as there are two sides to every story, in this story there is two eternally different results.

How many people cried out for salvation at the scene of the cross? The answer may surprise you. Two. That’s not counting the centurion’s remarkable confession.  Two sinners’ prayers were offered that day from the two crosses on either side of the Savior.

In this account we have two robbers, two responses, and two results. The first demanded, Luke 23:39 (KJV) …If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. The second implored, Luke 23:42 (KJV) …Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

The request, “Save yourself and us” was impossible to grant. How could Christ saved that wretched man if He first saved Himself from impending death? If He had come down from the cross he would have not been able to save anyone. What kind of Savior would He be?  Jesus could have temporarily saved him from death and he could have lived for a while but without his sins atoned for he would have eventually died in his sins. 

The repentant thief openly confessed Jesus as Lord. From his own three of death he pleads for life. He calls out in simple faith, “Remember me.”  This thief recognized that while the three men on Calvary shared a common punishment, there was one thing they did not have in common: the thieves were sinners dying for their own sins, while the man in the middle was the sinless One dying for the sins of others. "Lord remember me."  Before a person can be saved, he must realize his own sin and weakness. What could the dying thief do?  Arthur Pink explains, “He could not walk in the paths of righteousness, for there was a nail through either foot. He could not perform any good works, for there was a nail through either hand.  He could not turn over a new leaf and live a better life, for he was dying.” He could do nothing to be saved except confess his belief and plead with Jesus to remember him.

A prayer was answered, a divine pardon was granted, and a price was paid that even the thief’s terrible cross could not satisfy. In an instant, a common, worthless, condemned thief becomes a royal son of the Most High and is given a promise of eternal paradise. 

This man, for a moment of faith, was given more in an instant than he'd ever stolen. He was given eternal life. How can this be?  Because another Son hangs next to him. The only one who can take his place and bear his penalty at the same time. In an incredible display of unconditional love the thief dies with Christ and yet lives with Him.

"Father forgiven them." Part 4

And then a third thing I want to point out in the Greek here is that the word “forgive” also means “permit.” So Jesus was also saying, “Father, permit them; do not hinder them from doing this to Me.” 

Jesus petitions the Father to forgive them.  But who are they?

•        The Roman soldiers

•        The Religious leaders

•        The deserting disciples

•        The apathetic bystanders

•        The malicious mob

•        The entire fallen race of Adam (past, present, and future)

•        Perhaps He was praying for you!

"Father Forgive Them" Part 3

"Father forgive them" Part 3.

And another thing-the form of this Greek verb also indicates that Jesus prayed this prayer of intercession more than once. You see, this verb is in the imperfect tense which indicates repeated action in the past. In fact your Bible may translate verse 34 in this way, “But Jesus was SAYING, ‘Father, forgive…'” In other words Jesus prayed this prayer over and over again. So the Bible is saying that, when they arrived at the place of the skull, Jesus looked about and prayed, “Father, forgive them…” As the centurion crushed Him to the ground and tied His arms to the cross beam, He prayed, “Father, forgive them….” When the blunt spikes tore through each quivering palm, He prayed, “Father forgive them….” When they nailed His feet to the beam, Jesus prayed, “Father, Forgive them…” When they lifted that timber high and dropped it in the hole with a jolt that tore His flesh, Jesus prayed, “Father, Forgive them…” When the crowd cursed and reviled Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…” When the soldiers parted His garments and gambled for the seamless robe, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…” In fact, no one knows how many times that prayer pierced Heaven’s blue but Jesus prayed this prayer over and over again continuing to intercede for the transgressors.

And you know the truth is He STILL PRAYS this prayer for you and me.

Father Forgive Them Part 2

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...

As blood flows from His wounds, forgiveness flows from His words.

The Greek verb here that we translate as “forgive” is a very rich word-it has several shades of meaning so we need to look closely if we are to understand every facet of Jesus’ prayer.

First off, the word “forgive” expressed the idea of letting go of a debt by not demanding its payment. Jesus was asking that our sin debt be forgiven. But you see, this could only be done by placing the obligation on another. So in His prayer for our forgiveness Jesus was asking that our sin be placed on Him. In short Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them by condemning Me.” As He hung there on the cross, Jesus did not ask that God IGNORE our sin. A righteous God could not do that. God could not simply say, “Let’s just forget about mankind’s sin and let bygones be bygones.” No-God’s searing holiness demanded an infinite penalty. Our sin had to be atoned for. There was a price to be paid-and only Jesus could pay it. And that’s what He was doing. Jesus was saying, “Father, let Me pay the price for their sin.”

"Father forgive them" Part 1

"FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO"

A Word of Prayer

Remarkably the last words of Jesus start with a prayer. His public ministry had opened with prayer (Luke 3:21 (KJV) Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened) and here we see it closing in prayer. He prayed during His baptism in water and now in the baptism of His suffering.

No longer might those hands minister to the sick for they are nailed to the cross; no longer may those feet carry Him on errands of mercy, for they are fastened to the cruel tree; no longer may Jesus engage in instructing Apostles, for they have forsaken him and fled-how does He occupy Himself? In the ministry of prayer!  What a lesson for us.

Jesus is praying for His tormentors and dying for them at the same time.

Isaiah 53:12 (KJV) ¹²  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Prayer marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and prayer consumed His life and practice.