Alright, if you've got your Bibles, turn with me to Luke 23. I know that's a little bit different than what we've been doing for the last four years. We've been in Matthew. But I want to slow down at the cross. We made it to the cross last week. And I want to slow down. And I want to go to the cross over the next seven weeks. And I want us to tune in to what Jesus says on the cross. You'll see on the screen behind me the last sayings of Jesus. Jesus hasn't said much on the cross. I think He said, in Matthew 27, He said two words. And here we come now to Him being on the cross, and it's six hours, and there's seven statements, fifty words, and eight sentences on the cross. And I want us to spend seven weeks going over each one of the statements that He says and get everything that we can out of it. I think it'll teach us a whole lot about Jesus and it'll teach us a whole lot about what He did for us on the cross. So we're going to look at the seven sayings. And we start with the first one today. And I think this first one has been called the most amazing sentence in the entire Bible. And I would almost agree with it. These are, and I titled the sermon, The Forgiving Words of Christ. So let's stand together and I want to read this verse. It's really only half a verse that we're going to study today. I just told Brandon if I can make it to 40 minutes, I've succeeded. It's just a half a verse. We'll see where we go. But these are the forgiving words of Christ. I want to start in verse 32 and then we'll stop in verse 34. And it says in verse 32, and this is the Word of God, And there were also two other malefactors led with Him to be put to death. And they were come to the place which is called Calvary. There they crucified Him. And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, His first saying on the cross, the first words out of His mouth as they put Him on the tree and into the ground. He says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And down below they parted His raiment and they were casting lots. So this is the first statement. One of the most amazing sentences in the entire Bible. These are the forgiving words of Christ. Let's pray together and we'll study this verse. Father, we thank You. I thank You for what this verse has taught me this week. I opened it up not knowing really what we would get out of it, but it has been amazing. There are some amazing truths here that we need to know. But more than that, God, I think these words show us the very heart of Christ. So God, I pray that we would see that today. I think all these words will reveal the heart of Christ to us and what He was doing on the cross. And I hope and I pray that these seven statements will lead us to a greater love for Your Son and a much greater appreciation for what He did for us on the cross. So please, God, teach us what these words mean. They have echoed throughout history and they echo today in this building. May they echo into our ears and into our hearts. Please teach us what this means. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And we ask and pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. You can be seated. It's been said that a person's last words are very revealing words. That last words are lasting words. That whatever you say on your deathbed will tell a lot about a person. And I believe that's true. It will show you who they really are. So I've got a few last words that I want to share with you today. And I've just got four or five people that I've found that they're last words. And here's just a few examples. The first one, Karl Marx, the communist philosopher, not a very good man by any stretch of the imagination. Some would call him a fool. And his last words were, he said, last words are for fools who haven't said enough while they were living. P.T. Barnum, the great showman of circus fame, his last words were, what were today's receipts? A man all about money. Napoleon, the great French leader, said, Army, head of the army. This guy was all about power. Charles Spurgeon, you guys don't want to throw him in there, he said this, tranquil and happy, though very weak. My theology is very simple, and I can express it in just a few words, and these words are enough to die by. And his last words were, Jesus died for me. These lasting words are lasting words. These are a window into the heart of these men. That Karl Marx was a fool and his last words were foolish words. P.T. Barnum was a businessman and his last words were about money. And Napoleon was an army leader and his last words were about power and force. And that Charles Spurgeon was a man who loved Jesus more than anything else and his last words showed who he was, a man who loved Jesus. So it's a mirror into our hearts. A window into the heart of man. Whether good or bad. They say a lot. So when we say that, the last words will show us a whole lot about who a person is. Then what will Jesus' last words tell us about Him? That's the question. As we go to the cross here in Luke 23, Jesus hasn't said much at all. I said that in Matthew 27, you can go back and look at it if you've got a red letter Bible that shows you what Jesus says. Two words in a whole chapter building up to the cross. He's basically been silent. All He's said so far is, building up to the cross was thou sayest. That's it. He's been quiet. There's been really nothing said. There's been six trials. He's been lied about. He's been beaten. He's been flogged. He's been put on a cross. And He's barely said even one word. Every nerve in His body is crying out, no more! And He's not said a word. So what will He say? Here we are in verse 34 and the cross is being placed into the ground. This is the first saying. This is the first statement. They've nailed Him to the cross. They've put His hands in and bound His feet in by nails. The crown is on His head. The name is above Him. And the guards will now take it and they'll put it into the ground and settle it in and make sure it's all packed there. And as they set Him in, He says these first words. And the way it reads, it may be even that he doesn't just say it once, he says it many times. That it'll be something that he repeats. And what will his words be? For most, they say they were hanging on a cross. They would be cursing and swearing. For me, I don't know about you guys, but if I was hanging on a cross, I'd be crying for help. For him, you would think that he would call down judgment. You would think that His words would be, as they had showed Him no mercy, He would show them no mercy. And that He'd be calling down judgment upon their heads, calling for the Father to open up the ground and swallow them up. For lightning strikes to come down and strike them dead. They've showed Him no mercy. He should have showed them no mercy. But Jesus here, in His very first words on the cross, says a prayer. And it's a prayer for His enemies. It's a prayer for those who showed Him no mercy. It's a prayer for these murderers around the cross. It's a prayer for the hypocrites who are very religious but hate Jesus. It's for those who are putting Him to death, spitting in His face, mocking Him and wagging their heads at Him. He prays. And this prayer is a prayer of forgiveness for them. Wow. His words are a prayer of forgiveness. If this shows us... If last words are lasting words and it's a window into the heart of who we are, then this is showing us the most intimate and personal picture of the heart of God in Jesus on the cross, that He's a very merciful and forgiving God. That's what this is showing us here. And I want you to see this. It shows us what Jesus is like. It shows us why He died. These last words are as lasting as any words that have ever been spoken. I want them to echo in your ear today and throughout the rest of your life. So let's study these forgiving words. I told you I wouldn't preach long today. I have two points. I have the prayer. Then I have the answer. So let's look at it. First, I want to show you the forgiving prayer that he prays here in verse 34. And again, this is just a half of a sentence, a half of a verse. So I want to start where he starts, where he begins. His first word out of his mouth Then said Jesus, Father. That shouldn't surprise any of us. Jesus began His ministry in Luke 3, Matthew 4, and the first thing we see Him doing is praying to the Father. Jesus later on as He goes to preach the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches us how to pray. And He teaches us to pray and He says that we ought to pray in this way, our Father which art in Heaven. So He started His ministry in prayer. He teaches us to pray and we get to go to the Father in Heaven. And throughout His life and His ministry, it's been one unbroken relationship and conversation between the Son and the Father. And as He goes to the cross, at the start of it, it will be Father. In the middle of it, it will be my God, my God. At the end of it, it will be Father. Into Your hands I commend my spirit. He's constantly in prayer. Jesus was always praying. It's so important for us to see that at the worst time of His life, when everybody is trying to make Him doubt the Father and the Father's love for Him, Jesus never doubts it. Jesus never wavers. You guys know that at the worst times of your life is when you are most likely to doubt the Father's love. We even saw it this week as we saw the terrible, awful, evil, atrocious shooting in Texas. I'm seeing it all over social media. Where is God? Does God not love? Why would a loving God allow this? And everybody's wondering, where's God? This is the worst event in the history of the world. And they're all looking at Jesus and they're saying, you call yourself the Son of God? Where's the Father now? When in the midst of the worst time in His life, Jesus still goes to the Father. You can't make Him doubt. He goes to the Father who is the source of all strength. He goes to the Father who is the source of all comfort. He goes to the Father because the Father is the only place that we can turn in times like these. Making us doubt thoughts and prayers this week. Everybody kept saying, oh, we don't need any more thoughts and prayers. No, we need very many more prayers. We need more praying today than we ever have. Jesus in the most tragic time of His life, the most painful, again, when all of His nerves are in pain, He says, Father. So He starts His prayer with Father. So the next thing I want to see is who's He praying for? See, I don't think the father was unexpected. I think that should be expected. He's always praying. We should expect prayer. I think what's unexpected and should really surprise every single one of us is who he prays for. Because if that was me and if that was you, I'm going to assume that we were on the cross and our wrists had nails in them and we'd just been through what He'd been through and there's a nail in our feet and we know that we're going to die at any time. Our prayer would be, for me, it would be get me down from here. Help me! I preach it on Wednesday night. Help! Help! Help! All about me. It would be about me. When we go through trials, it's usually all about me. All about self. I need, I need, I need. But Jesus here, here's the unexpected. He prays for them. I would underline them. I would circle them. Not for Himself, but for them. This is self-forgetfulness. Not self-centeredness. He prays for them. And you can go ahead and underline they. them and they. It's like he's oblivious to his own pain. It's like he's oblivious to his own problem. It's like he's not even paying attention to what he's going through. His heart, get this, his mind is on them. His heart is going out to them. In the worst time of his life, he's not thinking about his own self. He's thinking about them. And we have to ask, I wrote it down here. Who's them? Right? You've got to ask that. Who's them? That his mind is on them. His heart is going out to them. He's praying for them. Who's them? Them is the brutal soldiers who are currently, at the end of verse 34, parting his raiment and casting lots. Them is the brutal soldiers. who are at his feet in that moment and they're rolling dice to see who's going to get his jacket, who's going to get his shoes, who's going to get his headpiece, who's going to get his tunic. They're sitting there just rolling dice. Who's going to get it? And on the cross, Jesus is praying for them. Those who were killing the Son of God. Those who put the nails in His hands and the nail in His feet. Those who had beat Him and flogged Him. And He's praying for them. These brutal soldiers He's praying for. And not just them, but if you go on down, you see in verse 35, it's the people who stood beholden. You see that? That's the mocking crowd. He's praying for the mocking crowd. So now He's looking down at the soldiers at the foot of the cross. And He's looking down at the crowd who are passing by wagging their head and spitting at Him and cursing at Him and blaspheming the Son of God. And on the cross, Jesus is praying for them. I'll give you one more. Verse 35, And the people stood beholding, and the rulers also with them, derided him. You see that? Now you've got religious hypocrites who's orchestrated the whole thing. They're the one who put the plan together. They're the one who paid Judas and put the religious trials together and took him to the civil trials. And now they're mocking him. And on the cross, Jesus is praying for them. That's who them is. Brutal soldiers. Religious hypocrites. Mocking crowd. Get this. You have to get this. Them is... I know that's not good English, but them is some of the worst sinners that the world has ever seen. Them is His cruelest enemies. Them is those who are committing the greatest crime in all of history. Them is the worst of the worst. Them is as bad as it gets. Nobody any worse than them. I can think of nobody in my mind who's worse than the brutal soldiers who actually took the nail and the hammer and put it into the hands of our Savior. I can think of nobody any worse than a mocking crowd who's blaspheming and spitting on our Savior. I can think of nobody any worse than the religious hypocrites who put it all together. Them is... the sinners around the cross. They can be described as, this is Charles Spurgeon's words, he described them as, and again that's your brutal soldiers, your religious hypocrites, and your mocking crowd. Spurgeon described them this way, abhorred, detestable, vipers, snakes, toads, should have never been born, lying at the gate of hell. Them is the worst of the worst. And Spurgeon would go on to say, them is me. That word them is a small word, but it's big enough for even me to fit into. Them is sinners like you and me. This is an amazing thing. And he adds, as he describes them. Let's just keep going. He says, Father, and then he says, forgive them, for they, and there he goes, and just describes them. He's describing again, I want to say this, he's describing the brutal soldiers, he's describing the religious hypocrites, he's describing the mocking crowd when he says, they know not what they do. He could have easily said what Spurgeon just said about them. abhorrent, detestable, vipers, snakes, toads, lying at the gate of hell. He could have said ungodly, blasphemers. He could have said God-haters. That's how I would describe them. We do that all the time when we describe people out there. We describe just how evil they are. And then we put them in groups. Oh, they're so evil. Oh, they're blasphemers. They're the worst that you could ever imagine. But Jesus says they don't know what they're doing. That's mercy in and of itself. He could have said, you God-hating bunch of blasphemers, you deserve damnation and hell. But he says, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. You say, did they not know what they were doing? They knew what they were doing. The soldiers knew they were nailing Him in. And the religious leaders, these hypocrites knew that He claimed to be the Son of God. And the passing crowd had seen the miracles and He fed them and healed them and raised from the dead. They knew something. But they didn't know the full extent of what they were doing. I don't think for a second that those soldiers knew that they were hammering the very hands of God into the cross. 1 Corinthians said if they'd known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. I don't think it was going through the religious leaders' minds that as they were hanging Him on the cross that this is the Messiah. He is the cross and He is the Son of God and He did come to save. I don't think they had full understanding of what they were doing. The passing by crowd, I know they didn't know what they were doing. They looked up at Him and said, who is this guy? He'd done some miracles and now he can't even give his own self off a cross. They knew a little bit of what they were doing, but they were ignorant of the big picture. None of them knew the full extent. They wouldn't have done what they did. So he says, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. They're ignorant. And I think there's a little bit more ignorance maybe For the soldiers, they don't know much. The crowd don't know a whole lot. They know more than the soldiers do. And the religious leaders know more than any of them. But they're all just ignorant of what they're doing. I don't think we get it either a lot of times. I think he can look down on us a lot and say, they don't know what they're doing. I think we're a lot like them. Some more than others, but we're all ignorant. You say ignorant of what? I think we're ignorant of just how bad our sin really is. I think we think we're a whole lot better than what we are. I think when we look out at a lost world and we call them hellish and evil and atrocious and we call them blasphemers and we say they're God haters. I don't think we may look at them and say how bad they are, but we miss just how bad we really are. I think they miss how bad they really are. None of us are as good as we think we are. We're a whole lot worse than we ourselves can even imagine. Our sins are blacker than we could ever even think. Ten thousand times more sinful than we even know. All of us in here at our very best, our sins are bad. I think we're ignorant of just how bad we really are, which makes us ignorant of just how good He really is. If we did know how bad we were and how good He is, we wouldn't do a lot of the things that we do. I think we don't know what we're doing a lot of times either. I don't think we really appreciate how good Jesus is. If we really appreciated Him, we'd live a little bit different than what we do. Maybe a lot different. Our church services would look different. The way we talk about other people would be different. If we truly understood how bad we are and how good He is. So he says they know not what they do. All of us are more guilty than we could ever imagine. One of the Puritans called it the exceeding sinfulness of sin. We are. Get this. Let me read this again. Whether you like to believe it or not, you might not know, but you need to know, everybody in here, that we are them. We are the abhorrent, detestable, vipers, snakes, toads who are living next door to hell. We are them. Which is why He prays what He prays. Let's get to what He prayed for them. So He goes to the Father. He's praying for them. And what does He pray for them? I like this. He prays exactly what they need more than anything else in the world. I love that Jesus is our intercessor and even Romans 8 says that when we don't know how to pray for ourselves, that He intercedes on our behalf and prays for us. Even to this day, He's in heaven interceding for us looking at us saying they don't even know what they're praying for. They don't know what they're doing. And He prays exactly the way we need. Look what He says. This is what they need. This is what them needs. Don't give me a bad grade for my grammar. This is what them needs more than anything else. And they don't even know it. They're gambling. They're mocking. They're spitting. I think the religious leaders are sitting there rubbing it in his face. And they're all down below there and they have no thoughts of what he's getting ready to pray. And he prays for them. Forgive them. There's a statement of the verse. Forgive them. One Puritan said, oh, the greatness of the Word. Forgiveness. It's the one thing they needed more than anything else. It's the one thing we all need more than anything else. We think we have a lot of needs. Our greatest need is forgiveness. So great is the depravity of man that the one thing he needs the most is the one thing he desires the least. If we knew how bad our sin was, and how great our Savior is, and how great our need for forgiveness is, all of us would be running to the altar begging God, please forgive me for my sin. But a world who knows not how bad they are does not run to the Savior. Jesus knows exactly what we need. Jesus knows how to pray for us. Jesus knows how to intercede for us. Jesus prays. For forgiveness. For them. You say, what does the word forgiveness mean? I'm glad you asked. Forgiveness is, on one hand they call it to send away. Like the Old Testament says that God will take our sins and cast them into the sea of forgetfulness and remember them no more. to the bottom of the sea where nobody can ever pick them up ever again. That's to send away. But I like the other one. I like the other definition, which is to cancel a debt. Anybody got any debt here today? Don't raise your hand. Anybody got any student debt? Don't raise your hand. I got some student debt. I hear the president talking all the time about loan forgiveness. And I'm sitting there thinking, I love that guy. Oh, you hear that, right? I mean, I've been to school a lot. And there's debt that lays on my shoulders, and on my wife's shoulders, and on my kids' shoulders. Because if I die, that debt goes to them. It's student loan. I mean, it'll just weigh on you. And all of us have debt, whether it be for a house, or cars, or credit cards, or vacations, or milk, or gas. We all have debt, right? Wouldn't you love it? Wouldn't you love it if somebody walked up to you and offered you complete and total forgiveness of all your debt? I'll take it all away. I'll take it off your shoulders. You don't have to pay it. Your car is yours. Your house is yours. The credit card is gone. Everything that you owe now is gone. That's what this forgiveness is. It's wiped clean. We owe nothing at all ever again. That's what forgiveness is. To have it cancelled. To have it paid for. Understand, the song we sang a little while ago, we all have a massive sin debt greater than any financial debt that any of us have. And it's a sin debt that we owe to God. for all the sins that we've all committed throughout all of our lives. And that list goes on and on and on and on. From the time you understand what sin is, you've been racking up a debt to God that you must pay for. Every last one. No sin off the hook. Not a lie, not a thought, not a lust, not a desire. All of it must be paid for. Can you imagine how long that list is? I've been alive 41 years. That sin keeps growing longer every day. I am always sinning and never able to pay. Yours is as well. All of us are under a load of sin debt. And our only hope is that somebody would forgive us. Our only hope is that someone would cancel the debt. Our only hope is that someone would pay that debt for us. Our only hope is if someone would take our debt and cast it into the sea of forgiveness for nobody ever to remember it again. Our only hope is that God would separate us from our sin as far as the east is from the west. Our only hope is forgiveness. Our greatest need is to be forgiven. And Jesus here, With My greatest need? Forgiveness. Their greatest need? Forgiveness. Our greatest need? Forgiveness. The world's greatest need? Forgiveness. And that's what He's praying for. It's amazing. That's exactly why He's on the cross. That's what the cross is all about. His first cry from the cross is the one thing we need the most. He's not thinking about Himself. He's thinking about them. This shows us the reason for the cross. Why is He hanging there? Forgiveness. It's what He's praying for. Everybody knows about Jesus on a cross. You go to the jungle, you take a picture of Jesus on a cross, and they're going to say in their own language, why is that man on the cross? One word. They need to know it. You need to know it. I need to know it. He's on the cross to forgive sin. That's an amazing thing. It shows us who Jesus is. No one ever loved like Jesus loved. What a soul of compassion was in the crucified, it said. How God-like and how divine. It's an amazing picture. Of the depravity of man down below them. heartless, cruel, evil, sin at its worst. You can't get any worse than what they're doing around the cross. And they have no thought whatsoever of praying for forgiveness. They've showed Him no mercy. And yet on the cross, an unmerited prayer. They didn't ask, pray for me. They weren't begging for forgiveness. They deserved judgment and curses. They weren't praying for themselves. Forgiveness is the last thing on their minds. Get this. Get this. Soldiers gambling. Forgiveness is the last thing on their mind. The greatest thing they need and it's the last thing on their mind. Mocking crowd. Last thing they're thinking about is forgiveness of sin. Religious leaders. The last thing they're thinking about is forgiveness of sin. And in an act of unmerited love and grace, Jesus prays for them when they're not even thinking about it. Jesus at the height of His agony, while His wounds are still open and still fresh, at the very moment when they are at their worst, Jesus prays for them. Romans says, while we were yet sinners, Christ died. He didn't wait to find us at our best day. This wasn't their best day, it was their worst. And in their worst day, He praised this. Oh, what mercy He's showing them. There are sins, there are many, but the man on the cross, His mercy is more. Our sins, they are many. And we don't even know how many. But His mercy, it's more. What a prayer. I'll even give you this. What an example. He is just practicing what He has already preached. And you don't have to turn there, but we preached Matthew 5 four years ago. And if you don't remember, here's what He said in Matthew 5. Verse 43 says, you have heard that it hath been said, this is what everybody else tells you to do, he's saying. Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. I'll stop there. He's just practicing what he preached. He's praying exactly how he told us to pray. And I'll tell you this, this ought to be a picture of how we pray today. All of us need to pray like this. Instead of looking out at a world and we do this, I drive through Big Stone and I see hellish activities. And I'm apt to look at my kids and say, look at them hellions. Look at them people that are on their way to hell. Look at them people, I can't believe they're acting the way they're acting. And then you turn on the TV and you see in Washington, D.C. and you say, I can't believe how those people are acting. And then you watch the news and it's an atrocious act after an atrocious act. And you're sitting there saying, they're vile. They're serpents. They're toads. They're on the doorstep of hell. And you just want to condemn them to die. But instead of doing that, we need to do what Jesus did here and drive through Big Stone and say, God, forgive them for they know not what they do. Turn on the TV and say, God, forgive them for they know not what they do. Watch Washington, D.C. and say, God, forgive them for they know not what they do. Turn on the celebrities and the musicians and the athletes. God forgive them for they know not what they do. My family members who are acting wicked and evil, God forgive them for they know not what they do. His prayer on the cross ought to be an example of our prayer every single day. That they need, their greatest need, the same need that we had, to be forgiven of all their sin. That's the message that we preach. A message of forgiveness. I'll get into that in just a second, but I want to get into point number two. That was the prayer. I've made it 30 minutes. I told you 40. I might go a little bit over. Or halfway through. So that's the prayer. What about the answer? Was Jesus answered? Was this prayer answered? He's praying for it. Now do we see an answer where the Father now will forgive them? And I say this, was it answered? You better believe it was answered. You know why? Because His prayers are always answered. He said in John 11, my Father always hears my prayers. It's been said, oh, how mighty are the prayers of Christ in heaven that everything He asks for, He gets. So we know, we know, you have to search a little deeper here, but we know that this prayer was answered. So now we've seen the forgiving prayer. Let's look at the forgiving answer. Because His prayer gets answered. And I want to say this, His prayer is answered on the spot. His prayer is answered on and on and on throughout history. Watch this. They all ask you, let's look at the passage. I didn't read these verses, but I want you to see in verse 35. Luke 23, verse 35. And the people, watch this. And I think it's every group included. Watch. Just follow with me. And the people stood beholden. So there's the crowd. The mocking crowd that passes by is the people. And it says, and the rulers also. There's your religious hypocrites. They're there too. And they're all there deriding Him and they're saying, He saved others. Why doesn't He save Himself if He's crossed the Chosen of God? So they're asking that question. Why is He staying up there? If He's crossed the Son of God, the rulers and the crowd are now asking, why is He staying up there? You ready? The next one. Look at the soldiers in verse 36. And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Him vinegar and saying, if you're the King of the Jews, save yourself. There's three different groups. The crowd. The religious leaders and other soldiers have all looked up there at him and said, why is he staying up there? If he's the son of God, why doesn't he come down? I've got another one for you. Verse 39. This is the thief on the cross. And one of the male factors which were hanging, railed on him saying, if you're the cross, save yourself and us. Four different groups said, why won't you come down from there? What's He doing up there? I think it's amazing that they all ask the same thing. Why is He staying? You want to know the answer for why He's staying? He's staying on the cross to be the answer to His own prayer. Get this. This is the only way that anybody could ever have their sins forgiven that Jesus stays on the cross and pays for them. Our God is not a God who just puts a blanket over everybody and forgives them without ever paying a cent for it. I told you about the student loan forgiveness. I want my loan forgiven. But it's not too fair for somebody just to say forgiven and nobody ever pays a dime. That's not fair. That's not just. Somebody needs to pay for what I used. Somebody, I mean you may not like that, but if I took it, I need to pay for it. Get this, if I sinned, I need to pay for it. Or somebody needs to pay for it. So Jesus is on the cross here becoming the payment for my sin. Jesus is on the cross here becoming the answer to His prayer. The only way our sins can be forgiven is if Jesus dies. He's praying here when He says, Father, forgive them. He's praying that His own death would be effective. He's praying, Father, forgive them and punish me instead. He's praying, accept my death instead of theirs. I'm going to say that again because you have to get this part. He's praying, Father, forgive them and punish me instead. He's praying. See, people say that today. Oh, He's just forgiving everybody. God is a loving God. It's a blanket forgiveness. And when He says, forgive them, He's forgiving the whole wide world of everything they've ever done and nobody has to pay. It's a lie from the pit of hell. Somebody must pay. Every sin that's ever been committed will either be paid for by Jesus on the cross or by you in hell. No sin gets off scot-free. Father, forgive them and punish me instead. except my death instead of theirs. He's paying punish me and pardon them. His death is the answer to His own prayer. So the answer on the cross is on the cross as He's hanging there. Where's the answer going to come from? It comes from Him staying and dying and bleeding and paying for my sin on the cross. So there it is. It's on the cross. And then it's on the spot. There's gonna be people, them, get this, just follow with me, it wasn't universal. It wasn't a blanket, them, everybody. You know why? Because there's some people in the crowd who didn't have their sins forgiven. You know Judas is in that crowd? Did he have his sins forgiven? Answer, no. We know he went to hell and is in his own place, the Bible says. If he's dying, if he's being punished in hell for his sins, then his sins were not paid for. His sins were not forgiven. Pilate's there. Herod's there. Their sins were not forgiven. It was not a blanket statement over everyone or everyone would have been forgiven and everyone would be in heaven. But instead, it's very specific. What's this? The first answer to the prayer? What's this? What's this? Verse 42. I get excited about these things. Verse 42. And the other thief on the cross, he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And we'll study this next week. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in Paradise. His sins were paid for by Jesus, And He was pardoned and brought into Paradise. He becomes really the first answer to that prayer. Then the next answer is in Matthew 27. We looked a little bit at that last week. Matthew 27. I think it's verse... You don't have to turn there. Now when the centurion and they that were with him... Here's the soldiers. So we have a thief on the cross. Sin is forgiven. You have a soldier here. Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying, truly, this was the Son of God. There's the next one. The thief is a them. The soldiers are a them. Weeks later, I want you to turn here with me. Acts 2. This is weeks later. You have to see that this prayer was answered, was prayed specifically, answered specifically. When he says them, he's praying for that thief. He's praying for those soldiers who are going to believe in just moments. Then he's praying for weeks later out of this crowd in Acts 2, verse 37. Let's read verse 36. It says, Peter preaching, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you crucified. Talking to that crowd who was there around the cross. You did this. He's made Him both Lord and Christ. And now when they heard this, the crowd, the ones walking by and mocking and spitting and making fun of Jesus, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart And they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? They just saw their greatest need. God has opened their eyes, pricked their hearts, and they say, my greatest need now is to be forgiven. This is an answer to Jesus' prayer on the cross. What's this? And Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the complete remission of sins. Do you see that? Forgiveness of sins. Remission. We know that word that you don't have it anymore. When somebody has cancer, they say, I'm in remission. They say, it's gone. I don't have it anymore. If you'll put your faith in Jesus, your sins will be gone. You'll be in remission. No more sins to pay for. That's our message we preach. Sin will damn you, but Jesus will forgive you. That's what He says here. I'll give you another one. That was weeks later. The crowd. Okay, so we said it. The thief on the cross. The soldiers around the cross. The crowd that was walking by the cross. And now the religious leaders. You ready for this one? Acts 6. Memorial weekend and I'm hearing pages turn. I love it. Acts 6 verse 7. And the word of God increased. It kept on spreading. And the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly. And a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. We now have every single part of that crowd. We have the thief on the cross and answer to prayer. Forgive him for he knows not what he's doing. We have the soldiers around the foot of the cross who are gambling over His clothes. And now they've said truly this is the Son of God. We realize and we see. And now they're an answer to prayer. And then we have the crowd who's been walking by and 3,000 saved in Acts 2 and 5,000 saved later on. All those who were wagging their head and walking by, they become an answer to His very specific prayer. That every time Jesus prays, He gets an answer and these have become an answer. And now the hardest group to reach is the religious hypocrites. And in Acts 6, a great many of them have now become obedient to the faith. Do you think Jesus' prayer was answered? You better believe it was answered. Them has now become forgiven sinners. And I don't think this is it, though. I believe there's more to it. I believe in Acts 2, it goes even further, and I'll read it to you real quick. But it says, Acts 2.38, Peter said, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the Holy Ghost. For this promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. You see that? I believe them is more than just those around the cross. I believe that the them was a specific group throughout all of history. I believe that Jesus, when He was praying on the cross, when He said them, He meant me. And if you're forgiven here today, He meant you. Let me just keep going. I don't think we can ever get to the bottom of this answer, but let's try. It was answered when we put our faith in Christ. In Acts 2, there's 3,000. Later, 5,000. The church begins and those, they were them. an answer to this prayer. And then there's more. Acts 2 again says, far off. And I can take you, you don't have to turn there. Let's do it. You guys turn there. I want to hear more pages turned. John 17. I'm taking up so much time. Get this. This is a great verse. Acts 17, verse 20. He says, neither pray I for these alone, but for them. You see that? Who's the them here? For them also which shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one as the Father art in Me and I in thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. Not just them, eleven disciples in John 17, but all those who will believe after them. You know who that is? That's us. On the cross, I believe we are them. I believe everyone that's ever been saved and ever been forgiven throughout church history is them. I believe we are them. I believe that on the cross He prayed for me 2,000 years ago. A long time ago. And we already said that. And we were talking about those around the cross. But I want to make it very personal here today that long before we ever knew Him, He loved us. Long before we ever thought anything about needing forgiveness of sin, Jesus was on the cross with your name on His lips. Father, forgive them. As bad as we are, knows we deserve judgment, but in unmerited love, He prays for us on the cross. Do you believe that? You have to believe that. That 2,000 years ago on the cross, it wasn't just some random prayer for everybody, but it was a very specific prayer for you that has had your sins forgiven today. And that moment, this is so good. The moment. The moment. that you put your faith in Christ whenever that was. Mine was February 15, 2004. I talked about it this morning. I know the converting scripture that was preached that day. And in that moment, I know that it was as if that Scripture, in that Scripture, the Holy Spirit came and tapped me on the shoulder and changed my heart and opened my eyes to the greatest need that I had. And it wasn't a new job. It wasn't a better marriage because we were just getting ready to get married. It wasn't to graduate college. I had all these things going on, all these things on my mind. But in that Scripture, it's like the Holy Spirit came and tapped me on the shoulder and said, your greatest need is forgiveness. And in that moment, conversion took place. My eyes were opened. My heart was melted. And in that moment, the prayer of Jesus was answered for me. Two thousand years ago He prayed it, and now it has been answered. Wow! You say, I can't keep praying for somebody. You never know when it's going to be answered. Some in the moment, like the thief on the cross, Some a little bit later, like the soldiers. Some even later, weeks later, at Pentecost when Peter preaches and the crowd gets saved, 3,000. Some even later in Acts 6 when the religious leaders are saved. Some even later after that when he's praying for those who will have their sins forgiven. And when I put my faith in Him, He washed all my sins away. My sins, they were many. But His mercy was more. That's an amazing thing. He prayed it 2,000 years ago and today the Holy Spirit is the one who comes and says, you need it. You need it. You need it. Your greatest need is forgiveness. Everyone who's ever been forgiven or ever will be forgiven is an answer to his prayer on the cross. How far reaching was that prayer? How far reaching? It's an amazing thing. There may be somebody in here today that you have no idea. But today you might become an answer to his prayer. That just blows my mind. 2,000 years ago, he prayed it. And today, by preaching what he said on the cross, the Holy Spirit could reach out and tap you on the shoulder and say, your greatest need today is forgiveness of sin. And your eyes could be open to it. And you could say, oh, my sins, they are many. Oh, I can't believe how bad I am. I've been ignorant of all that I've done. I'm not as good as I think I am. And I thought that going to church would do it. And I thought that being religious would do it. And I thought that baptism would do it. And I thought, but you didn't know. And now you know. You need to be forgiven. And today could be the answer to that prayer. And you need to know forgiveness is available to you today. That you can have every bit of your sins wiped away. I don't care how bad you are. Could you be any worse than the people around the cross? You need to see that. Murdering soldiers. Hypocritical religious leaders. Thief. A crowd who's indifferent and wagging their head. All involved in the greatest crime in history. The murdering and crucifying of the Son of God. And in that moment, these terrible people. He says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And you're here today and you say, I'm so bad. I've done this and I've done that. And my sins, they are so great. And they're so black. And there are so many. But if He can forgive them, He can forgive you. And anybody who comes to Him and asks for forgiveness, you better believe He'll forgive you. On the spot, in the moment, you come to Him by faith and He will not turn you away. And every single sin that you've ever committed will be wiped away. And not that you've committed in the past, but what you'll commit today and what you'll commit tomorrow so that you can stand before God one day and there will be no judgment fall on your head because it fell on Jesus 2,000 years ago on the cross. That's forgiveness. That's better than having your school debts paid off. It's having your sin debt paid off. I saw a thing on Facebook the other day, and I'll close with this. It was Austin Paulina's little boy singing Jesus Loves Me. I think it was Tucker. Am I right, Tucker? And everybody knows the first verse. For the Bible tells me so. We get that. Second verse brought tears to my eyes. Little boy laying in bed singing. Jesus loves me, he who died. Heaven's gates to open wide. He will wash away my sin. Let his little child come in. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. For the cross shows me so. What a picture. So maybe one day. I found what I want my last words to be. The same thing Charles Spurgeon said. All my theology can be wrapped up very simply, and it's good enough for me to die with. Jesus died. If you're here today still in your sins, I beg and I plead, your greatest need is forgiveness, and there's a Savior who will forgive you. You need to run to Him as fast as you can, and He will wipe away every sin you've ever committed. What a Savior. Precious Redeemer. Blessed Redeemer. I now see Him hanging on the tree. Run to Him as fast as you can. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. Thank you for this statement on the cross that echoes throughout history. As sinners are being forgiven, it echoes. As I was forgiven in 2004, it echoes. Father, forgive him. I pray it would echo today. that somebody in here is realizing their great need of forgiveness and that today they would run to you as fast as they can and find their greatest need has been met through the cross of Jesus Christ. May someone in here today please God, by your spirit, tap them on the shoulder. By your spirit, open their eyes. Let them see their need and let them run to Christ. And God, I pray for our church and for the people here who have their sins forgiven. I pray that we would follow this example and that we would make this our daily prayer. Father, forgive this wicked world for they know not what they do. Their greatest need is forgiveness. And I pray it wouldn't just be a prayer, but it'd be what we preach. That we wouldn't preach things that don't matter, but we would preach to meet the greatest need. That we would tell people that their sins, they are so many, but there's mercy that is more in Jesus Christ. Father, please use this simple little half a verse to open the eyes of sinners here today. And we ask and pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.