Sermon held on April 17, 1992 (good Friday) at the Elms Street Baptist Church in Everett, MA

Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do (Lk 23:24)

Today, a "good Friday," we gather together here with the spirit of preparing to celebrate the glorious day of resurrection of Jesus by getting ourselves closer to the pain of suffering of Jesus on the Calvary. It is my privilege to share with you the meaning of the first words of Jesus on the cross. This is the opening words. Without the opening words, no one, the other six distinguished preachers after me can enter into this long race of sermons. If I fail to deliver a spiritual message and stir our spirit to get closer to the spirit of Jesus, then rest of us may follow me or vice versa.

The first words of Jesus on the cross, as I see, echo and culminate the key element of the Lukan Gospel. At the appearance of John the Baptist, the new era of the new covenant is dawning after the long history of the old covenant which has been demonstrated as human failure and God's judgment. It is significant to notice that when John, the Baptist, a baby, was born, his father opened his mouth and claimed his son's mission as to prepare Jesus' way to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins. Forgiveness of sins is seen as the only way of salvation.

The rest of the Gospel echoes the same mission of Jesus. Jesus declares that He has the authority to forgive sin which belongs to God only and that He came to seek the lost and save the lost. Jesus met a woman named a sinner, and forgive her and she was saved. The parables in ch 15, lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son, are the heart of the gospel in manifesting Jesus' mission to seek the lost and save them. Particularly, the story of prodigal son highlights the heart of heart of spirit of forgiveness and salvation. The story of prayers of Pharisees and sinners and tax collectors enforces the heart of God to seek the lost, to forgive them, and to save them from the misery of sinful lives. Zacchaeus' story is another story of manifesting the heart of forgiveness and salvation. At the end of story, Jesus proclaimed "today, salvation has come to this house." And at the end of the gospel, Jesus after resurrection gave the disciples the great mission saying that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations." And the first sermon of his disciples in the Christian history done by Peter was structured in the core element of repentance, forgiveness and salvation.

When we are yet sinful, helpless, and hostile to God, God sent by his mercy and grace his only begotten son to save us from our sins, helplessness and the status of enmity to God. And thus He provided us the only, new and living way to draw near freely to God. As long as He remembers our sins in his memory, there is no hope for us to be saved and enjoy the abundant life in Him. The only way of wiping out the scars and stains of our sins from his memory is efficacy of Jesus' blood. His blood is more than sufficient to purge our sins and defilements and therefore he has nothing to remember but to forget. The voice of forgiveness on he cross with bruised body and shedding blood is the opening of the salvation history.

Let us return the scene of Calvary on which the Cross of Jesus stood. There were many people around the cross. Some were weeping with sorrow. Some were wondering why God did allow this thing to happen. Soldiers were doing their business as being ordered by their superior without considering what their doing meant to be. Some were mocking Jesus by saying blasphemous words against Jesus, by spitting to Jesus and by hitting Him.

Even the mobs on the cross either side were mocking. Everyone was not aware of what the Cross of Jesus meant to them. Thus, the prophet Isaiah claims: Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For Jesus grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root our of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. But the voice of forgiveness, "Father, forgive their sins, for they know not what they do!" was the prayer, Jesus made intercession for the transgressors. In his voice there was power to convict their sins and what is involved in the cross. Thus, one of two mobs mocking Jesus confessed his sin and ask Jesus forgiveness. The mob understood Jesus' suffering and blood as if surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;....he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; we are healed by his stripes. and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. On the cross, everything is ready for our forgiveness and salvation. All human being needs the power of blood for their sins being purged in order to be forgiven and saved. Because Jesus has the authority anointed by God and efficient material which is only his blood, he can forgive as He prayed on the cross but with only one condition that is the repentance, which the mob on the cross did and the prodigal son did. Finally, the forgiving spirit of Jesus is the spirit we, as Christians, should grasp. This spirit of forgiveness is a power of overcoming all the hatred, bitter, hostile, resent feeling against others and against ourselves. These feelings are nothing but hurting us. If we overcome these feelings by the spirit of forgiveness, and then we may enjoy the fullness of joy of salvation and fruitful life. The fullness of joy leads us to partake the mission of preaching of repentance, forgiveness and salvation as Jesus commanded. This is the message today for us to share the cross with Jesus.