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June 3, 2025 32 mins

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What would you say if you were being tortured to death? Most of us would lash out in anger, complain about the injustice, or simply cry in agony. Yet when Jesus hung on the cross—falsely accused, brutally beaten, and experiencing the most horrific form of execution known to humanity—his words revealed something extraordinary about God's heart.

The statements Jesus made from the cross weren't complaints or accusations, but expressions of care for others. He asked forgiveness for his executioners, promised paradise to a dying thief, and ensured his widowed mother would be cared for after his death. These weren't the words of a defeated victim but of someone accomplishing exactly what he came to do—revealing God's love in the most powerful way imaginable.

This teaching explores how Jesus's pain revealed his true character and demonstrates what genuine relationship with God looks like. Far from creating another religion of sterile rituals and moral platitudes, Jesus died to establish a Kingdom filled with transformative relationships characterized by the same selfless love he displayed on the cross. His divine life now grows within believers, enabling us to care for one another as he cared for us. Whether you're experiencing painful transitions or wondering what makes Christianity different from mere religion, this message offers a compelling glimpse into the heart of God revealed at Calvary. The cross wasn't just about what Jesus did—it was about who he is and who he's inviting us to become.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
we've been looking at the last words that Jesus spoke
while he was hanging on thecross and we're looking today at
a statement that Jesus madethat is so intriguing I mean,

(00:25):
they're all intriguing when youconsider the circumstances how
someone who had gone through acompletely prearranged monkey

(00:45):
court where he was falselyaccused of crimes that he didn't
commit, that were capitalpunishment, crimes concerning
Jewish tradition and Jewish law,and he was beaten mercilessly

(01:34):
as the cross, where you wouldhang, suspended between heaven
and earth until you die, and itwas an absolutely heinous way of

(02:01):
dying, of dying.
Yet Jesus spoke some words thatthey carry so much depth of
them by themselves.
But because he spoke themduring that time of transition,

(02:23):
that time of pain, that absoluteagony, I mean anything could
have come out of his mouth andanyone would understand,
regardless of what it was.
But what came out of his mouthwas so full of love and looking

(02:44):
out toward the needs of otherpeople, not his own.
And so we are compelled to lookat that portion of his life,
because we've been focusing inon, as always, jesus, but really

(03:08):
Jesus and his work on the cross, what he accomplished on the
cross and then in hisresurrection.
But what he accomplished whathe did on the cross, so powerful
.
And in leading up to thisparticular series, I wrote a

(03:28):
couple things down and I want toread them.
I wrote the things we say whenwe're facing a challenging
transition, whether we're scared, in pain or life's events
become just very hard to handlecan often be indicators of how

(03:53):
far we've come in our characterdevelopment and our walk with
the Spirit of God, and how muchwe need to grow in becoming more
like Jesus.
I mean, pain has a way ofbringing things out.

(04:15):
Transitions of all sorts have away of tipping over our, you
know, sense of equilibrium, overour sense of equilibrium and
our way of doing things.
And change happens, sometimesuncomfortable, and it's like, ah
, it could bring out that aspectof where we really are and

(04:42):
that's not bad, that's actuallygood, and that's not bad, that's
actually good.
And pain really revealed whoJesus was, is and will continue
to be for eternity.
That's God, a perfectdemonstration of God, god in the

(05:11):
flesh, the Son of God beingcrucified on our behalf, giving,
giving to the end and stillgiving it's powerful.

(05:34):
True relationship with Jesusinvolves real interaction, real
identification and realdevelopment, far from being some

(06:00):
sterile religious ritualperformed to either fulfill some
family or some statusobligation or some type of
genie-in-the-lamp arrangement,just in case things get hard,
set of morals or some sort ofplatitudes?
Not in any sense.
In fact, it's something thatcarries more intrigue than any
fiction or science fiction cancome close to matching, than any

(06:23):
fiction or science fiction cancome close to matching.
It's ever-evolving and it'sconsistently real.
At the same time, it'sconsistently real, but it's
ever-evolving RelationshipRelationship with God.

(06:46):
Not just relationship with god,not just relationship with god,
but having god's life in us, webeing born again, spiritually
alive, as a result of what jesusaccomplished on the cross.
He did that so that we couldhave divine life in us growing

(07:08):
in us, literally the seedgrowing in us, until it reaches
its full potential, its fullform.
In fact, creation itself isgroaning for that fulfillment,
because it's so glorious, it'sso wonderful.
The plans that he has for usare so powerful, so potent.

(07:31):
Given a glimpse of what pricewas paid in order to see the

(07:53):
value that is being placed uponus and is now invested in us, if
you have placed your faith inJesus, and you have placed your
faith in Jesus and you'vereceived from him the life of
his father by virtue of the HolySpirit of God living in you

(08:19):
Once again powerful.
Not some sort of piousplatitude or religious
performance, but a realrelationship.
It carries within it some truehelp during life's ups and downs
.
That's almost an understatement.

(08:41):
It carries within it some truehelp why?
Because Jesus walked throughthem and provides for us a way
to walk through them with him,as we follow the leading of the
Holy Spirit who has come toearth in his name.
Jesus can relate.

(09:04):
Holy Spirit can relate.
He's come in the very name ofJesus, bearing the heart of
Jesus, so that we can experienceJesus in the very name of Jesus
, bearing the heart of Jesus, sothat we can experience Jesus in
more than one place at one time.

(09:24):
If anyone can relate totransitions, jesus can relate to
change and difficulties in allaspects of life, as well as some
incredible successes.

(09:47):
We've looked at two statementsthat Jesus spoke while he was on
the cross.
The first one is Father,forgive them, for they know not
what they do.
Forgive them.
He's talking about the soldiersthat had beat him, nailed him

(10:16):
to the cross and some of thecrowd that had gathered that was
jeering at him, siding with thereligious leaders that were
there mocking him saying if hesaves others, now save yourself,
come on down off that cross.
And that was the last thingthat Jesus would do.

(10:41):
He would not do that becauseGod isn't like that.
God gives, he receives, but hehas no needs.
He loves to give and he getsjoy out of seeing us receive

(11:07):
from him the things that he'sprovided and then for us, in
turn, to be givers like him.
What a divine plan.
His life within us.
He's watching it grow, takingabsolute delight in seeing it,

(11:31):
and then the things that he'sproviding.
Now, sometimes we want thingsfaster and we want things more,
but that's not what we'retalking about now.
He's watching things grow andthings are growing within you.
Things are growing anddeveloping within your life.
They're not just staying thesame.

(11:57):
But, he said, could forgive them.
He didn't want what they weredoing held against them because
there was a power behind themthat was bigger, that was
driving this thing, and it wasliterally the kingdom of
darkness.
It was satanic, it was beingunleashed by the devil.

(12:25):
So he thought he fell into thetrap.
He took the bait, hook, hook,line and sinker, because this
was something that was plannedbefore the creation of the earth

(12:46):
.
The lamb crucified sacrificedthe lamb who died before the
creation of the earth.
It was all planned in order forus to be overcomers and see the

(13:07):
absolute final destruction ofthis realm of darkness.
And it's no small thing tobring a high ranking dignitary
into a court of justice and havethem tried and executed in

(13:31):
justice.
Not like Jesus, but Satan hasbeen given a sentence, and it is
one of eternal hell, for whathe has said and done in his

(13:53):
attempt to be God.
Attempt to be God.
So he said Father, forgive them,but they really don't.
They don't see this, they don'tknow what they're doing.
What vision he had, what visionJesus had on the cross.
He experienced the pain.

(14:14):
The pain was all real to him.
It wasn't just some sort ofphantom, this was all real him.
It wasn't just some sort ofphantom, this was all real, all
of his nerves, all of thefeelings that you feel when
you're being tortured.
He was feeling.
And yet he said forgive them,talk about understanding the

(14:37):
heart of God, them, talk aboutunderstanding the heart of God.
Second statement he made is to athief that was next to him,
hanging on another cross, and hesaid I tell you the truth today
you will be with me in paradise.

(14:57):
Simply because the thiefacknowledged that Jesus was the
Messiah, he was the Christ, hewas the Redeemer.
He put his faith in Jesus,acknowledged who he was, and

(15:21):
Jesus said that's what I'mtalking about.
That's the beginning point, butit's also an entrance into an
eternal way of life that is freefrom the bondages of sin and

(15:44):
death.
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
And the second one was saidwith the same amount of pain as
the first one.
Third one one today Jesus islooking at John, one of his

(16:10):
disciples, one of his apostles,who was there watching what was
going on, and his mother, mary.
Can you imagine your motherseeing you naked, being tortured

(16:30):
in front of everyone, andpeople saying I told you so, he
was only a carpenter?
Another one of everyone, andpeople saying I told you so, he
was only a carpenter, not one ofthose idiots.
The Messiah.
I know how it's going to bewhen the Messiah comes.

(16:53):
He's going to show the worldthe redeeming power that he has
and he's going to set us free asa nation.
He's going to finally put us inthe place that we really
deserve.

(17:17):
But Jesus looks at these twopeople that he loved.
He said to his mother he goes,dear woman, a very tender word,
dear woman.
Obviously I'm speaking inEnglish, it was spoken in more

(17:38):
word.
Dear woman, obviously I'mspeaking in English, it was
spoken in more likely Aramaic.
But, dear woman, dear woman,behold your son.
He wasn't talking about himself, he was talking about John.

(17:58):
John wasn't Mary's son and Marywasn't John's mother.
But he looked at John.
He goes behold your mother,john.

(18:20):
He goes behold your mother.
Now, that's amazing on so manylevels Once again, the fact that
he's even thinking aboutsomeone else's needs while he's
hanging on the cross.
But he was thinking of theneeds of his mother because he

(18:42):
was the firstborn son and hisMary's husband, joseph, had died
and, like the stepfather ofJesus, god being his heavenly

(19:04):
father but Joseph being hisearthly representation you know
Mary's husband, and so herfirstborn was dying.
He couldn't take care of her,which that would be customary,

(19:27):
and also, after his resurrection, he was going to ascend, so he
wasn't going to be around and hewanted his mother taken care of
.
She was a widow, she was awidow.
Jesus has a heart for the widows, so much so that he spoke about
it while he was on the cross.

(19:48):
It behooves us to take care ofwidows.
If you know someone who is awidow, the least you can do is
be kind to them.
I encourage you to reach outand find a way to demonstrate
love to them Spiritually,emotionally.

(20:14):
Demonstrate love to themspiritually, emotionally and if
they have needs that you canmeet that are food, clothing,
shelter, whatever.
He said, john, your mother,take care of her In mother, take
care of her In essence, takecare of her.

(20:36):
And then he said to Mary Mary,amazing thing, right, mary goes,

(20:56):
dear woman, behold your son.
Then he goes to John, excuse me.
He said to John behold yourmother.
So we talked about the factthat the Lord looks after the
widow, but also he's concernedabout the type of interaction

(21:29):
that John is going to beexperiencing because of his
interaction with Jesus, and thesupport that John is going to be
experiencing because of hisinteraction with Jesus and the
support that John is going toneed, the motherly support that
John is going to need.
Only Mary could understand thedepth to which some of the
followers of Jesus were going toexperience as a result of their

(21:54):
relationship with Jesus, whatthey would, what the cost
involved, and she would pourherself into them to encourage
them, to give them advice, to bea true, wise mother, to be a
true wise mother.

(22:16):
Ladies, being a wise mother isnot just some small thing.
It's not something that you dojust because you can't do
anything else.
It's a high and holy calling.
Jesus called Mary to be amother.
He called John to be a son.

(22:38):
Being a son to a widow is a bigdifference than being just some
person who casually drops off ameal here and there.
A son really takes care of hismother.

(23:01):
But a mother mother in herwisdom, in her love, in a
motherly what mothers offer.
My mother passed away years ago.
I still miss her.
I loved the input that mymother gave to me.

(23:22):
She could understand what itwas like to be the minority.
People that we were in the areathat we lived were in the area
that we lived, and she was ableto comfort me, even though I
didn't want that, because I wasbeing rebellious and found out

(23:43):
the hard way that what was beingoffered was really the best way
.
But regardless, she still lovedme, because moms do things on a
deeper level than I can evenunderstand.

(24:05):
So I bless you, moms.
I bless you.
It's not a small thing thatyou're doing, it's a very big
thing that you're doing.
And Jesus.
Jesus had the mind to actuallythink about this Again.

(24:33):
If it were me hanging on thecross, I would be still licking
my wounds as I could.
Concerning being falsely accused.
You say this ain't right.
This is just not right.
This is just not right.
This is totally wrong.

(24:53):
I'm innocent, I haven't done athing wrong, something like that
.
Or just in pain, saying reallyoff-the-wall things, really
off-the-wall things.

(25:13):
My sister, who's very kind, oneof the kindest people, my
sister Rebecca, she wouldn'thurt a fly or a flea, but when

(25:38):
she was giving birth to herdaughter, she was cussing at her
husband and said I'm going tothrow hot water on you.
If I could, I would right now,just because the pain.
She was saying things, seeingthings out of her mind.
I've, I've said some thingswhere I've smashed my thumb with

(26:02):
a hammer and because of thepain, I won't repeat what I said
.
Right, don't need to, you'veprobably done something similar.
But also there are.
I won't repeat what I said, Idon't need to, you've probably
done something similar.
But also there are transitionsthat are just gut-wrenching deep
, that you can't get away from,and the cross was that.

(26:27):
And Jesus still had the mind tothink about others.
That's the God we serve.
That's the God we serve.
He thinks about us.

(26:49):
He thinks about us.
He thought about us when he wason the cross.
Can you imagine what he'sthinking right now, not being on
the cross?
He thinks about you.

(27:10):
He knows and has yourcircumstances in full view and
he is going to help you walkthrough all aspects of life

(27:39):
transitions that are failures ortransitions that are successes.
He's going to walk through thatwith you If that's what you
open your heart for, that typeof relationship where he walks
with you.
He has his eye on us, not, likeyou know, the big eye in the

(28:09):
sky with a thumb waiting tosquish us when we do something
wrong, but with an eye to takeour needs into consideration.
And he's placed that same mindwithin us so that we can care

(28:34):
for one another.
We can become givers of ourtime, energy and money, of our
mind, will and emotions, wherewe can actually really join
together and become one.
We care about each other.
That's in us.
That's the divine seed that Godhas planted in us.

(28:58):
He didn't come to create a newreligion.
He came to develop newrelationships and he secured
them while he was being torturedon a cross designed for people

(29:24):
that were criminals.
Here we are walking Criminals.
Here we are walking with therevelation of God's kingdom

(29:46):
unfolding within us because ofwhat Jesus did on the cross and
the fact that he demonstratedthat he cares about things that
other people might not take intoconsideration.

(30:09):
He loves us.
That's true, father God, really, really, really, really.
I thank you, thank you, thankyou, thank you, thank you for
Jesus, thank you for offeringyour son.

(30:30):
Price is phenomenal.
Price paid for us to have arelationship with you
demonstrates how deeply you wantthat.
So I thank you, I thank you forthat and I say, yes, lord, I
want relationship with you andyes, lord, I believe that Jesus

(30:53):
died on the cross for me and I.
Without him, I can do nothing,but through him, I can do all
things if he strengthens me byyou, holy Spirit.
So I thank you, god, for who you.
So I thank you, god, for whoyou are, for what you're doing,

(31:17):
and I invite you to do it to usand through us, just like Jesus,
in his name, we stand here andsay amen, amen, amen, amen.
All right, folks, I love you.
If you have any thoughts,questions, concerns, once again,
please feel free to drop us aline at lifearoundthefire, at

(31:38):
gmailcom, or type inlifearoundthefire and look us up
on the web, drop a comment andcheck out some of the stuff
we've got there.
We'd love to hear from you Inthe meantime.
God bless you.
Adios amigos.
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