Woman, Behold Your Son

When you talk about Jesus Christ you must talk about the uniqueness of Christ. He is different from every other person that has ever lived. There are similarities between us and Him — He was born, He developed intellectually, physically, and relationally like all others, He experienced physical pain and hunger and weariness, and He had normal human emotions like joy and grief and anger.

And yet there was much about Christ that set Him apart from all others in unique ways.

• His teaching amazed His hearers because He taught with an authority that no other teacher did (Mk. 1:22)
• He forgave sinners (Mk. 2:5-12 )
• He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and made the lame to walk
• He fed 5000 men and their families and then 4000 men and their families from the most meager of provisions — creating food in His hands as He handed it to His disciples
• He demonstrated power over storms on the sea that even made His disciples ask, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mk. 4:41)

But of all the things that made Christ unique one series of events towers above the rest; and that is the cross and the resurrection. Nothing so demonstrates the authority and power and uniqueness of Christ as these events. The cross and resurrection are the singularly most unique events in the history of the world and they reveal the nature and character of Christ in a singular way.   It wasn’t just that Christ died for sinners — others have died and been martyred also (though without any saving benefit) — no, the uniqueness of Christ on the cross was in the way He died.

And we see the way He died in the words that He spoke from the cross.

On seven occasions while He hung on the cross, He made particular statements that revealed the uniqueness and greatness of who He was and is. As we listen to these words from the cross, we hear the richness and wonder of who He is:

• To the soldiers crucifying Him He offers a word of forgiveness (Lk. 23:33-34)
• To the thief on the cross He offers a word of grace and salvation (Lk. 23:39-43)
• And to His mother He offers a word of compassion (Jn. 19:26-27)

Download the rest of this sermon from Good Friday on John 19:25-27.

Listen to the audio here or here: