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Life Around "The Fire"
Life Around "The Fire"
The Crucifixion's Power: Jesus' Words on the Cross
The words of a dying man reveal his true character. When that man is Jesus Christ, those words become a profound testament to divine love and purpose that continues to transform lives two thousand years later.
Hanging on a cross after enduring false accusations, mockery, and brutal torture, Jesus didn't respond with anger or despair. Instead, his seven statements revealed a mind still completely focused on his mission—bringing redemption to humanity. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" were his first recorded words, demonstrating extraordinary compassion even for those driving nails through his flesh.
This episode explores how Jesus wasn't a victim of circumstance but made a deliberate choice to go to the cross "before creation was ever created." His decision wasn't motivated by some mystical obligation but by pure love—a desire to bridge the separation between humanity and God. We examine how Jesus' words to the thief beside him show salvation requires nothing but recognition of who Jesus is, while his care for Mary reveals the establishment of a new spiritual family transcending blood relations.
Most poignantly, we unpack Jesus' cry of "My God, why have you forsaken me?"—the moment when he who knew perfect communion with the Father experienced our separation, bearing the weight of humanity's sin. This wasn't merely suffering; it was the culmination of a divine strategy to defeat the powers of darkness and create a new reality where we can walk in freedom.
What decisions are shaping your life today? Like Jesus, you're not where you are by accident but through countless choices. His sacrifice invites us into a relationship that transforms our decision-making and empowers us to live with divine purpose. Join us in exploring how the words spoken from the cross continue to create new life and possibility within us today.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
when he stopped and considered the fact that Jesus, having gone through a whirlwind of activity for over 12 hours, from the point in time in which he was arrested to the time in which he was crucified on the cross, he had been falsely accused, gone to trial. He had been falsely accused, gone to trial, stood in front of several dignitaries and religious leaders, questioned, beaten with whips and with rods, and then found guilty under false charges, sentenced to death and found himself being nailed to a cross. And he had the ability to say something that was coherent, beyond coherent, that he was able to say things that penetrated to the very depths of humanity, and we have it recorded. What he said while he was on the cross was not vile. It was full of love and him identifying with us, identifying with our condition in life, in which there was an absolute separation from God, not a relationship. At best, there was religion and Jesus, throughout his life, had experienced perfect relationship with his Heavenly Father, and his decision-making was still intact while he was on the cross. In fact, his decision-making led him to the cross.
Speaker 1:It's an interesting point that, in life, what we decide to do determines where we're at. You're not where you're at by accident. You're where you're at as a result of a whole host of decisions, and Jesus was not placed on the cross by people. He decided to go there. He decided to go to the cross before he was even born, in fact, before creation was ever created. He was the lamb that was crucified. He made a decision to be the one that was going to make a way for us to enter into the kingdom of God, the eternal rule and reign of God, the place in which God dwells. The heavens above heavens, the highest heaven, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. For us to be citizens of that kingdom, taken from the realm of darkness, taken from a place of separation, taken from a place of absolute bondage to death and sin, and given to us the freedom to live a life that's not just good, but life energized by the very life of God, to have divine life within us, compelled him to go to the cross out of love. And so Jesus didn't wind up at the cross by accident. He wasn't being tortured by accident. He experienced all that by virtue of decisions that he made, and that's astounding, because his decisions were based out of love. His decisions were based out of love, not out of some sadomasochistic bend in his life, but literally out of love, out of knowing that there was no other way for us to experience the realities of salvation, meaning being set free in our bodies, in our minds and in our spirits to experience the full, complete freedom found in the kingdom of God, in relationship with God, for eternity, and for earth to be populated with the very kingdom of God, for the invisible kingdom of God to become visible all throughout the earth, that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. And that we're commissioned, as people empowered by his spirit, to fulfill that very thing in which he died for, so that we could experience the true reality of newness of life.
Speaker 1:Talk about love and talk about decision making. Talk about love and talk about decision-making. Sometimes we are I might not say we, okay, I'll say me Sometimes I am very scattered in my decision-making. I'm getting better, but there are times where I'm still. I find myself not really being decisive. Or, if I am, I'm making decisions based upon my appetites, whether or not I want, you know, to have an ice cream bar, or whether or not I want to watch a movie, or you know things that are relatively benign, but they occupy time, and Jesus was a master at showing us how to be decisive, how to make good decisions, how to make decisions that really matter and how to really manage our time. When you stop and think about what he accomplished in three years, the Apostle John said that if there were enough books that could be written, there wouldn't be enough to cover all that Jesus accomplished while he was walking on planet Earth prior to the crucifixion. And he then said we're going to do greater things than these, because he went to the Father and sent to us his spirit so we can be empowered to do what he did, and in an even greater way, because the kingdom of God is advancing Amazing. But we've been looking at what Jesus said while he was on the cross Because we stated before, when a person is in transition and also when a person is really experiencing pain, it can kind of reveal where you're at in life.
Speaker 1:Where you're at in life, we can talk a good game when things are going well, but when things are changing and our point of center shifts and we're in a transition, sometimes we see another side of who we are or we find out that there is more to us than we thought, or we find out that there's a lot of work we have left to do. And the same thing goes when there's you know pain, when you factor pain in, because those things really tell a lot or they drive to the surface what we're really made out of. And Jesus. Jesus revealed what he was really made out of on the cross and the first thing that we have recorded, what came out of his mouth while he was hanging, sent to death, he said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 1:These people were being driven by a power that they weren't know what they're doing. These people were being driven by a power that they weren't even one bit in tune with Understanding. They were being motivated in many respects by the powers of darkness. But Jesus was actually there hanging, enticing the powers of darkness to come. He was there with them, thinking that they were going to put an end to his involvement and his interruption with the affairs of their agenda, which was to become the rulers of the universe. Rulers of the universe, insane as that is, there was a real battle going on and Jesus was the sacrificial lamb that drew in the powers of darkness and the people that were involved in the crucifixion process were pawns in the hands of the demons and Jesus in love said Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. And it was true. They did not know what they were doing and sometimes that's true for us.
Speaker 1:We've done things that later on we look and say, man, what was I thinking? Well, perhaps it wasn't man, what was I thinking? Well, perhaps it wasn't the fact that it was you thinking. Sometimes there are things behind the scenes that motivate us to do things that are very destructive, like these people, something that just is later, when you look at it, it just doesn't. It's like what was I? Once again, what was I thinking? And so we can look at these folks and say, man, they were just really off the wall. But if we're really honest with ourselves and with God, we've done some off-the-wall stuff ourselves and some of our off-the-wall stuff has been the result of us being demonized. I can't say everything, but there are some things that have and we need to experience deliverance from those things, and Jesus provides deliverance for us and forgiveness from the acts we've done.
Speaker 1:Talk about a Messiah, a Savior, a Redeemer, jesus. Second statement I tell you the truth Today you'll be with me in paradise. He said that to a thief who was sentenced to death, who was on another cross next to his, who recognized Jesus as for who he was, and that was God, the Son, the Messiah. And he just simply said Lord, remember me when you go today into paradise. And Jesus said today you'll be with me in paradise. He accepted that man's declaration as sufficient.
Speaker 1:On the man's deathbed, he said well, man, is that really fair? You know? I mean, I've been serving God all my life, and how does a guy like that come in? He wasn't even baptized, he didn't go through confirmation, he didn't go right. All those things, well, those things can be important, but what's really important is who do you say that Jesus is? Who do I say that Jesus is? That's where it starts. Is he just a good teacher? Is he just a prophet? Is he just a good teacher? Is he just a prophet? Is he just a historical figure? Or is he who he said he was and is and will be, and that is God in the flesh. God, the Son, the Word. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word that was there at creation when God said and the Word came out, and then the Spirit brought it to be. The Father conceived it, the Son spoke it and the Spirit enacted upon it and there was light. Hallelujah Thirteen. He said dear woman, behold your son. And then he looked at John and said Behold your mother. And how Jesus had the heart to care about what was going to take place in his mother's life, but not just his mother. When people are widowed and in a place of real dependency, god cares. God cares for the widows and the orphans in a special way, because there's a dependency that is not known to others, except if you've ever experienced being a widow or being orphaned, you know what that means. And also, jesus was setting up this whole unique dynamic of a family of God. Of course, mary wasn't John's mother, but they were family. They were family.
Speaker 1:There's something more to being involved in church life than just attendance, just membership. It's much deeper than that. We are called to lay down our lives for each other. I mean, coming to Jesus is the beginning point, but it doesn't stop there. It's coming to him and saying God for all you've done for me. I give you my everything and I'm sorry for my everything that's ever been done that has created a division between us. God, please forgive me, and I will do anything you want me to do. I am yours, lock, stock and barrel, complete, I am yours.
Speaker 1:And where we can say to each other I am your brother, I am your sister, I am your son, you're my mother, I am your father. Wow, we can love each other on that level, in a pure way. You're my mother, I'm your father. Wow, we can love each other on that level in a pure way, not using it for a point of control or some sort of cultish way of manipulating people, mind control. No man Talking about love, freedom, creating things from what we say.
Speaker 1:And Jesus did On the cross? He was still creating things. He created them in the beginning and he was creating them still while he was on the cross. He was continually creating things. Jesus is a creator. He said that when he was going to his ascended place. He goes, I'm going to go to prepare a place for you. He's still creating, he has a creative element to his life and he's given us that same spirit. He's given us that same mind. He's given us that same ability to be creative creative with our tongues, creative with our minds, creative with our hands, creative with our hands, creative with our voices, creative, creative. We serve a God who's creative. He's not an imitator. Satan can't create, he can only imitate, and he's not even all that good at that, and, furthermore, jesus went to the cross to defeat him completely.
Speaker 1:It's not an easy thing to have a high ranking heavenly being brought into a place of justice and judgment. It has to be done seriously and methodically. Being brought into a place of justice and judgment, it has to be done seriously and methodically so that there is no way that any reference could come back to God and say, ah, that wasn't fair, that wasn't right, that wasn't just no, no wasn't just no. The judgment was made when Satan, in his pride and rebellion, looked to elevate himself independently, separate from relationship to God, and become God. Sound familiar.
Speaker 1:That's the thing that we were born into. It's called sin and death. That's the fabric that had to be overcome, and the only way for that to be literally broken was through the cross or through death and the shedding of blood of an innocent man on our behalf, and that was Jesus. He was the sacrifice that broke that power, his blood broke that sin and death curse, and now we can walk free and the ones that the Son has set free, they're free. Indeed, we're free, we're free, we're free, we're free to live. We're free to walk away from those old habits, we're free to walk away from those old ways of doing things that are destructive, damaging relationships, that fall apart. We're free to walk away from and become creative. Hallelujah, hallelujah, jesus said.
Speaker 1:Fourthly, he said my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's a very confusing statement on the surface, because we're talking about the Son of God, isn't he God? How can God forsake God? Well, jesus set aside his deity and became completely man and dependent upon the Father, so that he could model for all of us what it's like to be dependent upon God. So him hanging on the cross was him as a man hanging on the cross, and God was his God. The Father was his God, and at that point in time, jesus began to bear the weight of all the sins of the world.
Speaker 1:Not just the sense of pain that comes from being tortured, but the agonizing pressure of receiving that separation from someone that you've never been separated from before, someone you've had intimate relationship with completely a divine connection, all of a sudden broken and Jesus was taking straight from Psalm 22, words that David prophesied hundreds of years earlier. Being a seer, david prophesied the scenario of Jesus on the cross. It wasn't just poetry that David spoke. It wasn't just him being some sort of man involved in divination. He saw and expressed prophetically what Jesus was going to experience on the cross, so that when Jesus spoke what he spoke, he was fulfilling prophecy. Amazing.
Speaker 1:I would encourage you to read Psalm 22 again and read it with the understanding that David was prophesying about the death of Jesus hundreds of years before it took place, so that when it took place and Jesus spoke those words, he was confirming the fact of exactly who he was, who he is and who he will be, and that is the Savior of mankind, who he will be and that is the savior of mankind. But the weight of that experience was crushing in on him and the demonic powers were encircling him and putting upon him every evil pressure they could come up with and all of the heinous acts that could ever be committed and all of the heinous acts that could ever be committed murder, rape, slander the whole list of things that involve such gross, gross demonstrations of humanity's depravity that I don't even want to get into listing them because, once said, they stick in our minds. But those things Jesus bore on the cross and some of those things you've done, some of those things you've done and you say, could God? Could God forgive me? Can God forgive me?
Speaker 1:The depth to which Jesus went to the cross to experience our sin and separation is a demonstration of the depth of his love for us and how much he wants relationship with you and me, with us, and how he has a plan, how he has a kingdom. That's being demonstrated right now. It's the whole good news package, the gospel of the kingdom, the king and now his people who become his bride. Wow, what an amazing God we serve. He goes, my God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? Because that's what it feels like to not have a relationship with God, that God has forsaken God. Who God? Who Forsaken? Yeah, the feeling of disconnect, and sometimes we actually have grown accustomed to that.
Speaker 1:Some of us, myself included, lived for a period of time accustomed to being separate from God and it didn't really bother us that much until we met the Lord and he revealed himself, and then it became so evident how far we were away and how much we needed him. But we couldn't get there. Except he offered to pay the price for us to get there and did in blood, in blood, the covenant blood, the covenant relationship, the blood, covenant relationship. Blood is the blood of Jesus. That was paid so that we can experience what he now has again, but what we didn't have before, in which, when he experienced what we in some sense had grown accustomed to, he goes my God, why have you forsaken me? It crushed him. We need a savior. We need to be delivered from our own blindness. Some of us have watched. Some of you might still be walking around like that. We need a Savior. We need to be delivered from our own blindness. Some of us have watched. Some of you might still be walking around like that and you're listening to this and you're saying man, I don't know what it is, but it's making sense. That's because Holy Spirit is drawing you into relationship. This is all about relationship with God. Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:Well, jesus experienced on the cross the pressure of every sin, of all mankind, and it said that he died of a broken heart. In fact, he said no one takes my life. I give it. Amazing right. We're going to look at that very culminating act. When he gave his life, he gave it up right there in what he said.
Speaker 1:My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He took it on. He took upon himself the sins of the world. He became the scapegoat. He's worthy of our affection, he's worthy of our love, he's worthy of our worship and our complete surrender. He is God. He is our Savior. He is God, he is our Savior, he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and he loves us.
Speaker 1:Man, let's pray.
Speaker 1:Father. It's amazing. I can call you Father, and for it not to have that religious overtone to it, but you're my, you're Papa, you're Abba. Heavenly, your name is perfect in holiness, set apart from any other. Holy is your name. Your kingdom come, yeah, your kingdom, kingdom come. Will of God, the purposes of God Be done, multiplied All throughout the earth, as it is happening right now in heaven.
Speaker 1:God, thank you, thank you, thank you for the work that you accomplished through your son, jesus. Jesus, thank you for offering yourself, giving yourself so that we can have newness of life. Holy Spirit, thank you for giving us resurrection, life and power, giving us a foretaste being the down payment. Thank you, thank you, thank you, we love you, we love you, we honor you, and God, I invite you to infuse us with your power so we can serve you with great might and see your kingdom demonstrated all throughout the earth.
Speaker 1:In the name of your mighty son Jesus, we stand here, amen, amen, we. We stand here, amen. We say it again, amen and again, amen, amen. All right, folks, I love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, once again, feel free to drop us a line at Life Around the Fire or you can at gmailcom. Excuse me. Once again, feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire or you can at gmailcom. Excuse me, type in lifearoundthefire at gmailcom or look us up on the web. Type in lifearoundthefire, and we would love to hear from you in the meantime. God bless you. Adios amigos.