SermonStudio

Object:
A ladder and a sponge

We left our story last week with Jesus hanging on the cross and the Roman soldiers playing games with dice for His clothes. It was a horrible afternoon in Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that at noon, when the sun is usually at its brightest, there was nothing but darkness. It looked like it was night time, and there was a big storm coming. The people who stood around the cross were cold and crying since the people they loved were dying on crosses. The soldiers watched the people to make sure that none of them tried to rescue Jesus or the other two criminals who were being crucified that day.

The pain of standing on a nail driven through His feet was terrible for Jesus, and His arms were tired from being held outstretched with the nails. But there was nothing He could do except look to His Father in Heaven and pray for new strength. One of the criminals was yelling at Jesus to save them if He was the Son of God. "If you have that kind of power why don't you use it?" he screamed at Jesus. The other thief felt something different about Him and told the screaming thief to be quiet.

The pain was unbelievable, and Jesus began to sweat drops of blood where the crown of thorns bit into His head. His throat was dry and He had to make a major effort even to breathe. Still, He looked out with love in His eyes for all of the people, including the ones who tormented Him, with words like, "If you are the Son of God save yourself, come down from the cross." When He did nothing they laughed at Him. None of the followers of Jesus laughed but instead they prayed for death to come quickly so that Jesus would not have to suffer long.

Once when everything seemed quiet and the soldiers were watching some black clouds move toward the hill on which they were standing, Jesus let out a yell in Hebrew that sounded like this, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani." It scared the soldiers to see someone so near to death be able to shout in such a loud voice. Some of the people who were not paying attention very closely thought that Jesus was calling for Elijah. What Jesus had said was, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Those who heard Him felt awful. If Jesus felt that God had given up on Him, then what was left? It was for His Father that He did what He did. Did Jesus feel that God had really left Him to die all alone? Later, when men had a chance to think, they remembered that these were words from a Psalm. Jesus knew what it felt like to be a man, filled with sin. He knew how we feel when we have sinned and God seems so far away.

One of the soldiers ran over to Jesus with a stick with a sponge on the end, and climbed a ladder. He took the sponge and put it to Jesus' dry lips. The sponge was filled with sour wine or vinegar and it tasted terrible. But now it was for something else. It made His dry lips and throat feel better, and it was supposed to help kill the pain. At least one of the soldiers was beginning to feel something different for Jesus.

But the other people who were not followers of Him and the other soldiers began yelling at this one who tried to help. "Let him alone," they shouted. "Let's see if Elijah comes and saves him." Then all of these people let out a big laugh since they knew that Elijah had been dead for hundreds of years. The soldier came down from the ladder, but he could not take his eyes off Jesus. Even with all His pain and sorrow, the soldier could see that Jesus was filled with love and forgiveness for those who hated Him.

I have a small picture of that ladder and sponge for you. I hope that you will keep it somewhere so you can remember the day that Jesus felt all of our sin and the sins of the whole world crush Him. You will also remember how one soldier began to think a little differently about Jesus and tried to tell Him that he was sorry. Maybe when you think of the soldier you will remember to tell Jesus that you are sorry for your sins.