Providence

Guilt is universal.

Circumstances, sufferings, triumphs may vary, but guilt remains constant. When dealing with our guilt, we tend to turn to one, or more, of these four things: running, numbing, cleansing, or redefining. But, with each of these, no solution can be found for that stain of guilt we are trying to erase. This is where we turn to Calvary and find forgiveness in Jesus’s death and resurrection that eliminates our stain of guilt. 

While hung on the cross, Jesus prayed to the Father for the forgiveness of those who hung him there, even as they continued to mock Him after sending Him through torment and torture. When we are mocked, we revile or run away, but Jesus did neither. Instead, He prayed for His mockers’ forgiveness in the eyes of the Father. 

On the cross, ALL of the sin against God was condensed on one, perfect body. As Son of God, Jesus forgave people all the time, and we even see this throughout the recountings of His life on Earth, but on the cross, Jesus exercised no divine authority. He humbled Himself so much that He resulted in appealing to the Father for forgiveness. Why does He appeal? “For they know now what they do.” Judas knew He was betraying, Peter knew he was denying, Pilot knew he was condemning, but they didn’t know the enormity of the injustice of sin, and they didn’t know who they were condemning. The same is true for us in our sin.

In the Old Testament, The Day of Atonement was a temporary fix for humanity’s sin problem, the tarping of a broken roof. Christ came to fix our roof; He paid for our sin and took it away. We see this displayed on the cross in Jesus’s plea. Christ’s prayer from the cross has traveled the ends of the Earth, and it has reached us! Belief in Christ means Jesus’s prayer on the cross was answered.

 

SERMON NOTES

— When dealing with guilt: 

  • We try running from our guilt, but we can’t outrun what we carry

  • We try numbing out guilt, but we can’t deal with one storm in our life when creating another.

  • We try cleansing our guilt, but we can’t remove the salt in the ocean by adding fresh water.

  • We try redefining our guilt, but we can’t erase the law sewn on our hearts by writing a new one. 

  1. Jesus prayed for forgiveness in the most unforgiving of moments. (Luke 23:24) 

    • Matthew 9:2 — As Son of God, Jesus forgave people. On the cross, Jesus exercised no divinity. He humbled Himself so much that He appealed to the Father for others’ forgiveness. 

  2. Jesus prayed for sinners in the most sinful of moments. (Luke 23:34) 

    • 1 Corinthians 2:8 — They didn’t know the enormity of the injustice and sin, and they didn’t know who they were condemning. 

    • Acts 2:23; Luke 19:10 — God’s sovereignty brought about all of this. 

    • Ezra 9:6 — We’re not mere spectators. Part of us was there. Our sin was laid on that cross. 

  3. Jesus died on the cross so His prayer could be answered. (Luke 23:34) 

    • 1 John 2:1-2; Acts 3:17-19 — Belief in Christ means Jesus’s prayer was answered. His prayer from the cross has traveled the ends of the Earth, and it has reached us! 

    • 1 John 1:9 — We are to trust Christ and confess our sins to Him. 

 

INTROSPECTIVE QUESTIONS

  1. Have you trusted Christ and been forgiven? 

  2. How have you felt the comfort of Christ through your belief in Him? 

  3. Are you forgiving towards others? 

  4. Are you confessing your sins to Christ? 

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Grace lives in streams, not in puddles. This means that the grace we receive through Christ’s death and resurrection shouldn’t sit stagnant within us, but flow freely from us. Christ freely forgave us, those least worthy of forgiveness. This ought to stir an urgent desire within us to freely give grace and forgiveness to others in the hopes that they may be drawn closer to Christ through it. Does God’s grace sit in a puddle, or live in a stream within your heart?

 

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