Luke 22 this afternoon. I've read you the text about the cross and the crucifixion. We're gonna back up a little from there. I want to talk to you today just about the last 18 hours of our Lord's life. Obviously there's a lot I'm not gonna be able to speak to, but I just want us to get a bigger picture here this afternoon of just this time up to the cross. Let me pray and we'll begin. Heavenly Father, we are grateful to gather today, and it's because of you, it's because of your Son, it's because of your Spirit that we can gather today. We thank you for what has been done. We thank you for the record of what our Lord Jesus went through. We are grateful. Fathers, we look at that today, I pray that there would be this greater thankfulness that would come to our hearts, a deeper appreciation and a love that would just well up in us as we consider our Lord Jesus. I pray that you would minister through your spirit into our hearts now, and we would ask that you would do this in Jesus' name, amen. So this afternoon, I want us to, as much as is possible, slip into our Lord's sandals for that last 18 hours. As we begin a look at the scripture this afternoon, let us remember that our Lord has been up since early Thursday morning, We are at Friday now. He is at the cross as we would see it. But I really want us to sort of move back to Thursday evening into early Friday morning. Jesus has come to earth with a purpose. He knew that purpose. He came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. And he is sort of like this marathon runner as we look at him today. Those 26 miles are nearing their completion. And as he makes this turn around that final corner and looks to the finish line, he know what awaits him. He plods along, what a journey it has been. Not easy to this point, and it's wrought with even more difficulty and anguish and heartache as he goes toward the cross. I can't stress that enough. He grasped the cross, as difficult as that was, it's a ghastly symbol of humility, of shame, and it is to die in the worst way imaginable, to die on a cross. There are certain aspects, though, of these last 18 hours that I want to point out to us this afternoon. This is what Jesus experienced, and I hope that as we consider that, that our hearts will grow in a deeper thankfulness toward Him, a greater appreciation and a love that would well up in us and directly impact our living, our doing, how we look at Him. I don't know if you desire a deeper walk with the Lord. I hope you do. I hope you do. I do. I think that's something we all should desire. And if we do, there are four aspects to these final 18 hours that I think will benefit us in considering that. What I want us to consider first is a rejection that is unthinkable. A rejection that is unthinkable. It's probably true of all of us. that we have at times experienced some difficult circumstances and during those times there have been perhaps someone or a number of individuals who we thought we knew, who we thought were there to have our backs, someone we could count on that turned from us and left us without the assistance that they could provide or their friendship that would have helped. Jesus experiences that. He experiences it, first of all, in the betrayal by Judas. It's found in Luke 22. And if you look at verses 21 through 22, it says, Behold, and this is at the, we would call it the Last Supper, the Lord's Supper. It's on a Thursday night. And it says there, but behold, the hand of the one betraying me, as he's ministering to the disciples, he says this, is with me, mine on the table, for indeed the Son of Man is going at it, it has been determined, but woe to the man by whom he is betrayed. And then if you look right on down to verse 48, I'll pick it up in 47, and this is after the Garden of Gethsemane, while he was still speaking, behold, a crowd came and one called Judas, one of the 12 was preceding them, and he approached Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? There's this betrayal by Judas. I believe this was painful. As we look at humanity, not only is our Lord Jesus God, he's also man, this mysterious, you know, How do I want to say it? This mysterious blending, if you would, of our Lord Jesus being God and man. And the disciples are eating a Passover meal with Jesus on that Thursday night. Jesus gives them this stunning truth. One of them would deny him, would betray him, excuse me. One would betray him. It was really unthinkable, I think, for all of them. But further insult to injury is the way that it was done. Judas did this with a kiss. A kiss is an intimate expression of love, of devotion, of faithfulness. The way Judas betrayed Jesus would become an expression that is still used to this day. It is called the kiss of death. Jesus was betrayed by this individual who he loved, who he had ministered to for some three years. What a blow that must have been to him. There's also this rejection that's unthinkable, not only with Judas, but with the disciples, specifically with Peter. Look at the 34th verse here in Luke 22. He said to him, I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied me three times, denied three times that you know me. Jesus told Peter that he would deny him. In Mark's gospel, this is how it's stated there, Peter kept saying insistently, even if I have to die with you, I'll not deny you. And they were all saying the same thing also. So not only was it Peter, but the disciples, they all said, look, Lord, we'll stick with you to the end. At the cross, they all had abandoned him. At some point, John shows up, but they scattered, and these were men that he had invested himself into. He taught them. They had seen him work in wonderful ways, and yet there's this crushing moment when Jesus could use them and have their assistance the most. They've left him alone. So there is a rejection that's unthinkable. Jesus experienced that. That's one of the things he experienced. There's another aspect to his last 18 hours that I want us to think on. And that is an anguish that is indescribable. An anguish indescribable. Jesus went to, before the cross, he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. After the Passover meal, he'd eaten that with the disciples. You see it in verse 39 of Luke here. Chapter 22, he came out and proceeded as was his custom to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed him there. When he arrived at the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter temptation, and he withdrew from them about a stone's throw. And he knelt before, he knelt down and began to pray, saying, Father, if you're willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my wills but yours be done. There is this anguish that is is amazing to me. Jesus is in the garden and he's asking that this cup would pass from him. I think I mentioned this maybe last Sunday or maybe in our Sunday school class, I can't remember last week, but this is the only time I know of in our Lord's life that he asked the Father to reconsider his will for the Son. Jesus had lived under pressure in many situations. He knew what it was to live a sinless life. And he had to live a sinless life if he was going to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And there's a pressure to do that, not only in his actions, but in every word he spoke, everything he taught, and every thought he had. He must be the sinless Lamb of God. And there were those that wanted to kill him along the way. and they pressured him, and they tried to trip him up, but none of that compared to what he was under at this point. It says in Mark, the 14th chapter, that it was to the point of grief, and he was grieving at the thought of becoming, I believe, sin for the world. If you turn to Mark, the 14th chapter, I want you to hear his words there, I want you to see them. Mark the 14th chapter. It's also recorded in Matthew as well. But Jesus gives us some words there that I think are worth remembering. Verse 32 there in Mark 14. They came to the place named Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here until I have prayed. And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be very distressed and troubled. And he said to them, my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch. And what he's saying here is there's this pressure. Deeply grieved is related to the term from which we get periphery. It carries the idea of being surrounded by sorrow. It is possible to die from sorrow. It's possible. That happens sometimes. You'll see a couple that have been together for their whole lives, very close. One of them dies and immediately the other goes to be with the Lord as well. It's possible to die from sorrow. And Jesus is saying, my soul is to that point. The weight of what he was facing was enough, he's saying, to kill him. And that was going on in his body and his mind because he was to become sin for us. Every sin for all eternity from every man was placed on him. That was something, I believe, that was foreign to him. It was sickening to think of that, that he would become sin for the world, for mankind. And he would bear our sin. Sin was so foreign to him. As a holy son of God, holy God, it's something that was out there in his thinking. So it's seen in his grief. This anguish is indescribable. Not only is there the thought of the cross, and that's horrible, but this aspect, this spiritual pressure that he was feeling was great. If you go back to Luke's gospel, you'll see something else there. Now Luke is a doctor. And he was a doctor who was, of course, looking very closely and paying attention to details of what he had known. Luke 22, verse 44, it says this, and being in agony, and this is, again, he's at Gethsemane, he was praying very fervently and his sweat became like drops of blood falling down on the ground. That's what's before us here. That is pressure. He would become sin, and that's why he is undergoing this. It's a medical condition that is relatively rare, according to Dr. Frederick Zugebe. But it's well known, and there have been many cases of it. A person can actually sweat blood. The clinical term is hematohydrosis, I think. I can't say it well. But around the sweat glands, this is what happens. Around the sweat glands are multiple blood vessels in net-like form. And under the pressure of great stress, the vessels constrict. Then as the anxiety passes, the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands. And the sweat glands are producing, when they're producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface, coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat. Our Lord is under an anguish that is indescribable, and he's sweating blood. Not only that, there's another aspect to his anguish that I can't quite get my mind around, and that is, it's seen in his being forsaken by the Father. Mark 27, 46. Jesus cries out, Eli, Eli, sabachthani. That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This again was so foreign to our Lord. For all of eternity, he is the eternal Son. He and the Father have enjoyed uninhibited fellowship. While Jesus is on the cross, while he's on the cross there, God's wrath is poured out. His body, in his body, the scripture says, he is bearing our sin. And as he bears the wrath of the father, there's a point there where he has become sin, and the father turns his back on him. He turns away. And Jesus senses it. And he cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So there is this unimaginable anguish that our Lord went through. There's some other aspects of the cross, two more that I want us to consider this afternoon. And that is a grace unimaginable. A grace unimaginable. Jesus ministers from the cross to those around him. It's remarkable of our Lord. His love is so deep, His grace so abounding, that it flows out of Him. You're still in Luke there, I think, Luke 23. I want you to note something there. There's a prayer. Luke 23, verse 34. Now, we'll note in 33, they came to a place called the Skull. There they crucified him, the criminals, one on the right, one on the left. But Jesus was saying, one of the seven sayings from the cross, this is what he was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They cast lots, dividing up his garments among themselves. I don't know about you, but when I'm hurting, when I'm sick, when I'm stressed, when I'm struggling, I have to really work. to be good, to be kind, to be gracious. I've never experienced anything like our Lord is going through at this point. And what flows out of him? He's not chiding those for doing what they're doing. He's interceding on their behalf. Is that amazing? That is amazing grace. So he prays for them. Father, forgive them. They really don't know what this is all about. We hear this later on in the book of Acts. The seventh chapter, Stephen, while he's being stoned, prays basically the same thing for those who are killing him. What an impact this had. But that's grace, that's love, that's compassion that's flowing out of our Lord Jesus. It's grace that's unimaginable. It's also seen in his response to the thief. Look at verse 43. It says, he said to him, truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. You note if we walk back a minute, just a few verses there in verse 39, one of the criminals who were hanging there were hurling abuse at him, saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself. There's a point in the Gospels in Matthew, he records that they were both hurling insults at him. And these thieves joined all those Pharisees and the mockers that were around, and they're mocking our Lord. But there comes a point in one of these thieves' minds when there's repentance that occurs. And he sees Jesus for who he is. Look at what he says in verse 41. Or excuse me, I'll back up to 40. The other answered and said, rebuking him, said, do you not even fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? We indeed are suffering justly. For we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. This thief realizes that. And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And our Lord in His grace, He's heard what's come out of this man's mouth previous to this. He's mocked, He's insulted, but our Lord just reaches out in grace when this thief, this penitent thief on the cross, calls out to Jesus to save him, Jesus does just that. Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. See, salvation is all of grace. There's nothing, nothing that this thief could offer Jesus, nothing. He could do no religious work. He could do nothing at all. He couldn't be baptized. He couldn't go to a synagogue or hang out with other believers. He couldn't do that at all. There was nothing he could offer Jesus. He simply cries out to him in faith, and Jesus saves him and says, today you'll be with me in paradise. There's grace unimaginable, not only in his prayer about those who were crucifying him, not only to this thief on a cross who cries out to him, but it's also seen in his dying for us. Dying for us. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For he made him, that is the Father, he made him and knew no sin, the Son, to become sin on our behalf. that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He died for us, that we might live to Him, that we might experience eternal life, that this which was irreversible might be reversed, and that righteousness that Christ had might be placed on us. That's what 2 Corinthians 5.21 is all about. And it is by grace. It's grace that's poured out, grace that's lavished to anyone who would believe. So it's a grace unimaginable. Not only that, but there's a victory that's incomprehensible. Matthew 27, verse 45, we are told that darkness fell over the land from noon until 3 p.m., three in the afternoon. If we were there this day, at this time, there would be darkness that has overflown the area. It was as if all creation bowed its head in sorrow and darkness upon Jerusalem. The world grieved as the Creator bears the sin of mankind. It is from the cross that Jesus rightly states, it is finished, John 19.30. That is a statement of victory. Sin's penalty had been paid in full and the word is translated, it is finished, and the Greek means just that, paid in full. He accomplished, Jesus did, all that the Father would have him to do. He did what no one could have done. He offered his life, the perfect life, as a sinless lamb of God. And as a sacrifice for sin, his blood flowed that day. It flowed from his head, his back, his hands, his feet, and his side. Three nails pinned our Lord to the cross, but it was love that kept him there. Love compelled him onward, onward to the cross, to finish what he had come to do. And this afternoon, I hope we stand in awe of him at this moment. Jesus experienced a rejection that was unthinkable, an anguish indescribable, a grace unimaginable, and a victory incomprehensible. It is amazing grace, and I want you to know it is finished. You know, as I thought about this, I really hope this is true of us and will happen, that there will be a deeper thankfulness, a deeper appreciation, and a love that will well up in us and may it directly impact our life for His glory. It's Friday afternoon. Our Lord is suffering. He is dying. He's being pressed in heart and soul as a sin bearer of sin for all time. This is his story. This is a story of God becoming man, bearing the sins of many. We leave him on a cross this afternoon. We've been focused, what we have been focused on is a sobering reality of what it took to purchase my redemption and yours. Let's pray. Loving Father, it has been said you paid much too high a price for us. And we acknowledge that the price that was paid is unimaginable and incomprehensible. But I would pray, Father, that our hearts would rejoice, that we would grasp some of it, and that we might understand that you have made a way of escape for us, and that if we'll acknowledge we're sinners and cry out to Christ just like a thief, we will indeed be saved, saved from the penalty of sin. And those of us who have come to faith, Father, we just, words, there's not words really to describe our gratitude toward you, or at least what it should be. We praise you. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.