Rescue – “What did the Cross achieve?”

children, you are welcome to go out to the hall and you can enjoy a holiday junior church all

together. For the rest of us, we can turn in God's word to the gospel of Luke chapter 23,

Luke 23 · chapter mention

and we are going to read from verse 26 to 49.

And the words will be up on our screen if you don't have a copy of the Bible on your phone or in paper form.

Luke chapter 23, let's hear the word of God.

Luke 23 · chapter mention

As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country,

and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed

him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them,

Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children.

For the time will come when you will say, Bless to the childless women, the wombs that never bore and

the breasts that never nursed. Then they will say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills,

cover us. For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the

place called the Skull, they crucified him there along with the criminals, one on his right,

the other on his left. Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching,

and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, He saved others. Let him save himself,

if he is God's Messiah, the chosen one. The soldiers also came up and mocked him.

They offered him wine vinegar and said, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.

There was a written notice above him which read, This is the king of the Jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him, Aren't you the Messiah?

Save yourself on us. But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you fear God, he said,

since you are under the same sentence. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our

deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into

your kingdom. Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,

for the sun stopped shining, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with

a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, Surely this was a righteous man.

When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their

breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from

Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things. Amen. And before we turn back to look at that

section of God's Word, we're going to sing two sections of Psalm 22. And again, like Isaiah 53,

we're going to hear prophecies of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus as Savior. So let's stand and let's sing

from Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

.

.

throw the dice to get my coat, among themselves my clothes they share.

Come quickly, rescue me, my strength, to not be far from me, O Lord.

Save me from power of evil docks, my precious life from cruel sword.

Now to my brothers I'll declare the praises of your glorious name.

Within their gathering I will stand, and your renown I will proclaim.

Praise Him, all you that fear the Lord. Give honor to Him, Jacob's grace.

All Israel's children, worship Him. Bow down with awe before His face.

Amen.

So as we continue to think about the journey to Easter, we come to the cross.

Our theme is rescue. Our question is what did the cross achieve?

I mentioned earlier this little booklet, Freed But At A Price.

And it tells us of a story that some of us may remember.

A few days before Easter in 2018, in the south of France, there was a hostage situation.

And there was this gendarme, this police officer by the name of Arnold Beltram,

who offered to take the place of the person who was held hostage,

so that negotiations could continue, so that the women might be spared.

Well, Arnold was shot and killed during that hostage situation.

And a number of days later, as the lady, the hostage Julie, was being interviewed,

she said simply, he gave his life for me.

He was killed so I could live.

And in a very real sense, that takes us to the heart of the very first Easter.

It takes us to a world held hostage by the dark side of our nature, by our sin.

And where we have no hope by ourselves of escape, and into that situation came Jesus.

And Jesus' mission, as he described it himself, was to give his life as a ransom for many.

A picture of a slave with no chance of escape, or indeed, of a hostage being held ransom.

And the message of this first Easter is that if we believe in Jesus and what he has done on the cross,

then we also can say, he died for me, so I can truly live.

So as we continue to think with Luke about this journey to the cross, the journey to Jesus' death,

we're going to see together a number of different events,

different interactions and conversations that are going to reveal to us both the work of Christ and the heart of Christ.

Helping us to see and to consider his loving rescue.

And again, as we do that, let's be asking ourselves the question,

what impact will this have on our lives as we think about what Jesus has done?

Let's begin with the theme of substitution and with this man, Simon.

So verse 26, we're introduced to him.

We're told as the soldiers led Jesus away, they seized Simon and they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

So behind this event lies the fact that Jesus is now in a severely weakened physical state,

subject to multiple beatings, to cruelty and torture at the hands of the soldiers.

And so he is unable any longer to carry his own cross.

So this man, Simon, from North Africa, from Libya, is commanded then to carry the cross of Jesus to the place of crucifixion.

And now we don't know very much about this man, Simon, but Mark tells us, Mark 15 verse 21,

Mark 15:21

that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus.

And that can seem kind of an incidental detail, but it also points to the fact that Alexander, Rufus, Simon,

stand as early eyewitnesses to Jesus and to his death on the cross.

And they are included so that people could go and ask questions of them

when Mark's gospel was written some 30 years or so after the death of Jesus.

Well, here is Simon, and he's been commanded to act as a substitute.

He is carrying Jesus' cross to the place of crucifixion.

But if we pan back in the story just a little bit, we recognize that in a far greater sense,

Jesus on this journey is functioning as a substitute for Simon.

And not just for Simon, but for anyone who will believe in him.

Now, why can we say that?

Because here is Jesus, the Son of God, who has become fully human.

Here is Jesus, he is sinless, and he is perfect.

But where is Jesus going?

He's going to the place of the cross so that he would bear the burden of sin,

and he would face the penalty for sin,

that punishment, that penalty that you and I should deserve.

And so the cross becomes God's great exchange.

As we look to the cross, what are we seeing?

We're seeing Jesus, the God-man, experiencing what we deserve.

Separation from God, punishment from God.

And he experiences that why?

So that we might enjoy what he deserves.

Eternal life.

And so this theme of substitution is central to the good news of the cross,

and it's central to the Christian faith.

To think about it another way, let me read for us verse 44 again.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,

for the sun stopped shining.

This darkness at midday isn't natural, it's supernatural, it's an act of God.

And what's happening there?

On one hand, Jesus is entering the dark clouds of our human wickedness as he takes sin on himself.

But he's also going into that darkness facing the penalty that sin deserves.

In the Old Testament, darkness is often an image of the judgment of God.

So here is Jesus, because he is bearing our sin, he is also bearing the punishment for sin.

And he's going into the darkness as a substitute for all who will trust in him.

It becomes clear in the cost of salvation that there is only one way to be saved.

There's only one way to forgiveness, otherwise this would never happen to Jesus.

And here, as we think about this theme of substitution, we're being invited to recognize the heart of Jesus.

As he says to a world held hostage by sin and unbelief,

I will die so that you can live and live eternally.

But the cross speaks to us of more than just substitution.

It also speaks to us of mercy.

Mercy in the place of judgment.

And to help us to see that, I want us to think about this conversation between Jesus and the women in verses 27 to 31.

Many of us perhaps are familiar with the stage play Evita and the famous song,

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina.

Well, here is Jesus turning to this crowd, following after him's,

Don't weep for me, women of Jerusalem.

And we have to ask, why not?

Why should they not weep for Jesus?

Let's read again verse 27.

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.

So we know in that culture, public mourning was a thing.

Here is a group of women who are showing sympathy towards Jesus in his suffering.

But Jesus responds,

Do not weep for me.

Weep for yourselves and for your children.

Jesus is walking to his death and he knows it.

And yet he says to them,

Your weeping is misplaced.

Don't weep for me.

Weep for yourselves and for your children.

Now why can he say that?

Why would he say that?

Let me suggest three answers for us.

One, it's Friday.

It's Good Friday.

But Jesus knows Sunday is coming.

Jesus knows in the plan of God, yes, he will die.

But he will also rise in victory.

And so he says,

Do not weep.

This is not the end of my story.

He says,

Don't weep for me.

Weep for yourselves.

Because he knows another thing is coming.

He knows future judgment is coming.

That's why there's that language in 29 and 30.

The time will come when you will say,

Blessed are the childless women.

Then they will say to the mountains,

Fall on us and to the hills cover us.

It's language that speaks of the coming judgment of God.

Last week we thought about the fact that Jesus came to the city of Jerusalem

and he wept over it because they didn't recognize in his coming,

is God's coming?

Is God's Savior come for them?

They rejected him.

And so judgment would come.

And so here is Jesus giving one last lament for the city,

for those who would turn their back on him.

And say,

Don't weep for me.

Weep for yourselves.

Because judgment is coming because of unbelief.

But he also says,

Don't weep for me.

Weep for yourselves.

Because what Jesus doesn't want is,

He doesn't want their sympathy.

He wants their faith.

He doesn't want tears of sympathy.

He wants tears of repentance.

He wants them to have a change of heart and a change of mind.

To recognize he's not just another figure suffering in agony and humiliation,

but he is the Son of God who has come deliberately to save them.

And so he invites them to cry tears of repentance and to trust in him.

And again,

here is the mercy of Jesus on display for us.

Experiencing a personal agony that we can only begin to imagine.

But he doesn't turn inward to focus on his own suffering.

Rather,

he turns outward on the need for mercy for others.

It's the point of the proverb in verse 31, I think.

For if people do these things when the tree is green,

what will happen when it is dry?

Jesus is saying,

If this,

if the cross is going to happen to me,

how much worse will be what happens to the city who rejects me?

And so he offers a loving warning.

Judgment is coming.

Seek mercy.

When we think about the story of our booklet,

that story of the hostage situation in France,

we find ourselves with so much admiration, don't we,

for the heroic acts of bravery that we hear about and read about.

Where compassion leads to action.

It's what we see with Jesus.

It is Jesus,

the Son of God,

with his heart beating,

full of mercy and love,

and it leads him to act,

willing to come to be one of us,

willing to suffer the judgment of God on our behalf,

willing to display the mercy of God to the world,

so that

you and I don't have to face this future judgment

that Jesus anticipates and promises,

so that we might know mercy.

And so when we think about the cross,

doesn't it call us to admire Jesus

in his loving sacrifice,

to delight in him that he would love me

and give himself for me,

but not just to admire him from a distance,

also to trust him personally.

It makes us ask the question,

will I weep over my own sin?

Will I have true faith and find mercy from Jesus?

That's not all that the cross achieves for us.

We can move to verses 32 to 34

and think about forgiveness.

And here we find Jesus among his enemies.

We discover in verse 32

that two other men, both criminals,

were also led out with him to be executed.

And when they came to the place called the skull,

they crucified him there.

And as he is crucified,

Jesus said,

Father, forgive them,

for they do not know what they are doing.

The last few days of Jesus' life

has seen this conspiracy of evil

gather around Jewish leaders

and Roman officials

looking to execute Jesus.

And now they have achieved their goal.

Here is Jesus hanging on the cross

in public shame.

But what Jesus understands,

that's why Jesus came,

is that this fulfills Scripture.

This fulfills the plan of God.

That's why we began our service in Isaiah 53.

That's why we sang Psalm 22.

Isaiah 53, verse 5,

Isaiah 53:5

he was pierced for our transgressions.

Verse 12,

he was numbered among the transgressors.

Psalm 22, verse 18,

Psalms 22:18

they divided my clothes among them.

The Old Testament anticipates

the work of God's anointed king,

that he would be a suffering servant.

And so here is Jesus,

now being nailed to the cross.

And even now we see

his mission of mercy continues.

His blood flows

and prayer flows.

As he says,

Father, forgive them

for they don't know what they are doing.

When we think about the ethics of Jesus,

we think about the famous sermon

on the mount.

Perhaps one of the most challenging statements

Jesus made

is when he called his followers

to love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 5, 44.

What do we see in Jesus?

We see in Jesus

one who practiced what he preached.

He taught with authority

and he lived it out.

He was concerned

for these ignorant Jews.

They thought they were getting rid

of a false Messiah.

For these ignorant Romans

who were executing him,

thinking this was just

all in a day's work,

not recognizing the significance

of the one

that was hanging on the cross.

And so he prays

for forgiveness.

You can look in history books

and you can find records

of crucifixions

because Rome used crucifixion

a lot as a show of force

and to sort of put down uprisings.

And those records

are ugly and violent scenes.

You will find records

of people hung on the cross

cursing those who are killing them

and mocking them

and as they die

they're giving as good as they get.

But not Jesus.

That's not his way.

He prays for forgiveness

as he is providing forgiveness.

And this beautiful prayer

is a prayer

that stretches across

space and time.

Perhaps we can think of his half-brothers.

Those half-brothers

who thought that Jesus

was crazy, frankly,

for his claims.

But when Jesus appeared to them

risen from the dead

they became followers.

Their sins were forgiven.

They didn't know

what they were doing.

when you think about Saul

who we know as Paul

the great persecutor

of the early church

hated of Jesus

wanted to destroy the church

when the risen Jesus

appears to him

what happens?

His sin also is forgiven.

He didn't know

what he was doing

in rejecting Jesus.

And you know

this prayer

is a prayer

that's answered

in the heart

and life

of everyone

who is a Christian

who is a follower

of Jesus.

Our sin

is forgiven.

Our ignorant

rejection of Jesus

in our past

is forgiven.

And this is a prayer

that gives each of us

hope if we're not

followers of Jesus.

As we see again

the heart of mercy

that Jesus on the cross

would pray for forgiveness.

This isn't just

for those people

back then.

this mercy

and forgiveness

is available

for you

and for me

today.

If

we see our need

of sins

being forgiven

and if we trust

Jesus

and his work

for salvation

then this prayer

will be answered

in your life too.

What else

does the cross

achieve

as we consider

this story?

Let's think

about salvation

as we think

about the thief

on the cross.

So verse 35

to 43.

But again

if we go back

to our hostage situation

in the south of France

this man

Arnold

he knew

in the way

that only people

in the line of fire

can know

I can only save

this hostage

by not saving myself.

I need to put myself

in the place

of danger

in order

to give

safety

and salvation

to another.

It's one of those

wonderful stories

of courage

and sacrifice.

Sometimes we hear

those stories

of parental love

or we hear it

in the context

of war

at one

sacrificing

themselves

willingly

for the sake

of another

and this is

what we have

in Jesus

he knows

there is

no other way

but we recognize

as we read

our text

that the enemies

of Jesus

are blind

to this truth.

Look at verse 35

here are the

Jewish rulers

who sneer at him

they said he saved

others

let him save himself

if he's God's Messiah

the chosen one

verse 36

the soldiers

they mock him

if you are the king

of the Jews

save yourself

one of the criminals

hanging on a cross

hurled insults

at Jesus

aren't you the Messiah

save yourself

and us

they are blind

to this

truth

that the human

sin problem

is so desperate

that we are so

helpless

in and of

ourselves

we cannot

save ourselves

we cannot escape

the darkness

that separates us

from God

and makes us

liable to the

judgment of God

that we can only

be saved

from the outside

we cannot

make our way

up to God

we need God

to come down

to us

as he's done

in the Lord

Jesus

who saves

by the way

of sacrifice

and so we have

this powerful

reminder

whenever we think

about the cross

that it saves us

from sin

but we're also

reminded in

Luke's gospel

of what we are

saved for

and again

Luke records

and other gospel

writers record

something that

happens in the

temple

as Jesus

is dying

so verse 45

after we discover

that the sun

stopped shining

we hear this

and the curtain

of the temple

was torn

in two

so within

the temple

there was this

location in the

temple called

the Holy of Holies

the place where

God was seen

to dwell

and it was

separated from

the rest

by this huge

curtain

as thick

as a man's

hand

it was a

great big

no entry

sign

saying that

a holy God

cannot be

with sinful

people

or there would

be

destruction

for

people

but as

Jesus

dies

and as

sin

is removed

what happens

the barriers

is torn

into

again another

work of

God

saying to us

in the death

of

Jesus

the way

is open

to know

God

personally

to come

into

God's

presence

presence

and all

because

Jesus

endured

the cross

and took

the darkness

but back

to

our

events

here

and back

to this

thief

on the

cross

verse

40

we thought

the last

time about

Zacchaeus

a very

unlikely

candidate

for salvation

well here

is one

even less

likely

but what

does he

see

when others

are blind

the other

criminal

rebuked

him

don't you

fear

God

he said

since you

are under

the same

sentence

so he's got

this sense

of fear

this awe

this reverence

I should

be here

but Jesus

he's on

the cross

and this

thief has

so much

to teach

us

it can

teach us

what we

might call

the gospel

ABCs

how to

respond

to the

work of

Jesus

the first

thing that

he teaches

us

is the

importance

of admitting

our guilt

so look at

verse 41

he says

we are

punished

justly

for we

are getting

what are

deeds

deserve

he's not

blame shifting

he's not

downplaying

what he

has done

rather he

acknowledges

I deserve

to be

punished

and for

us

to come

to know

Jesus as

Lord

we need

to apply

this to

our own

sin

and to

admit

our guilt

that we

have on

a daily

basis

treated

God as

insignificant

that we

have

regarded

him as

having

little

worth

that though

he is

our

creator

we have

chosen

to

reject

his

rule

we have

sinned

against him

in thought

and word

and in

deed

and we

need to

admit

that

but we

don't just

stop there

notice that

this criminal

he doesn't

just admit

guilt

he also

believes

who

Jesus

is

there's

wonderful

words

in verse

41

and 42

he says

of Jesus

this man

has done

nothing

wrong

and then

he said

Jesus

remember me

when you

come into

your kingdom

this man

has done

nothing

wrong

this man

is

sinless

and we

need to

recognize

as we

look at

Jesus

he's

not just

one of

us

he is

the

sinless

son

of

God

and

notice

too

that as

Jesus

is about

to die

this criminal

recognizes

Jesus

is at

the same

time

about

to

enter

into

his

kingdom

so

this

thief

on

the

cross

knows

Jesus

is

God's

eternal

king

and

his

only

hope

of

salvation

and

so

the

Christian

faith

requires

us

to

believe

in

who

Jesus

is

but

again

we

don't

just

stop

there

believing

certain

truths

about

Jesus

we

need

to

come

to

him

come

to

him

for

rescue

so we

find

when the

thief

says

remember

me

Jesus

when you

come into

your

kingdom

not

remember

me

Jesus

act

for

me

Jesus

receive

me

Jesus

as

the

king

will

you

grant

me

eternal

life

it's

a

remarkable

scene

here

is

one

dying

man

turning

to

another

and

says

save

me

here

is

a

cry

of

faith

and

if

his

words

are

beautiful

then

so

too

are

the

words

of

Jesus

let's

think

of

the

response

of

Jesus

and

this

response

in

verse

43

really

stands

as the

basis

for

Christian

hope

because

we can

discover

a few

things

about

salvation

first

of all

we can

discover

that

when

our

faith

looks

to

Jesus

salvation

is

certain

Jesus

answered

him

truly

I

tell

you

today

you

will

be

with

me

in

paradise

here

is

Jesus

speaking

with

the

authority

of

God

come

on

the

mission

of

God

as

the

son

of

God

as

God

King

and

he

declares

salvation

will

be

accomplished

at

the

cross

and

if

you're

trusting

me

you

will

be

with

me

salvation

is

certain

when

we're

trusting

in

Jesus

we

also

discover

that

salvation

is

personal

notice

that

Jesus

said

truly

I

tell

you

today

you'll

be

with

me

now

there's

the

goal

of

salvation

to

be

with

Jesus

Jesus

in this

sense

goes ahead

of

this

criminal

Jesus

is the

first of

the

three

to

die

and

he

goes

ahead

to

prepare

the

way

to

receive

this

man

into

the

kingdom

just

as

Jesus

had

said

to

his

disciples

he

spoke

about

heaven

as

his

father's

house

said

in

my

father's

house

there

are

many

rooms

and

I'm

going

there

to

prepare

a

place

for

you

and

if

I

go

I'll

also

come

back

and

take

you

to

be

with

me

that

you

may

be

where

I

am

that

salvation

to be

in the

presence

of

Jesus

and

his

people

in a

world

made

perfect

with

sin

removed

for

all

eternity

we

also

get an

understanding

that

salvation

is

eternal

when we

think

about

this

word

paradise

a

very

rich

word

paradise

it's

actually

a

Persian

word

meaning

a

garden

or

a

park

and

perhaps

as we

think

about

that

we

go

back

to

the

very

first

garden

the

garden

of

God

the

garden

of

Eden

in

Genesis

1

and

2

and

what

do

we

find

was

the

reality

of

the

garden

of

Eden

there's

God's

people

Adam

and

Eve

they're

living

in

God's

place

and

they're

enjoying

God's

presence

and

that

is

salvation

God's

people

in

God's

perfect

place

enjoying

his

perfect

presence

forever

and

the

last

thing

to

recognize

about

this

salvation

and

it's

so

important

for

us

to

see

that

salvation

comes

by

grace

could

this

thief

on

the

cross

earn

his

salvation

did

he

have

a

chance

to

turn

over

a

new

leaf

and

do

some

good

deeds

did

he

have

a

chance

to

do

some

great

religious

activity

no

he

only

had

a

few

short

hours

left

to

live

and

that

reminds

us

that

he

is

saved

by

grace

through

faith

it's

free

grace

the

father

bearing

the

cost

of

salvation

and

sending

his

son

his

free

grace

and

the

son

being

willing

to

go

to

the

cross

to

die

in

our

place

for

our

sins

it's

a

gift

to

receive

by

faith

just as

this

man

couldn't

do

anything

to earn

it

neither

can

neither

do

we

it's

free

grace

what

does

the

cross

achieve

it

achieves

our

freedom

at a

price

as

I

was

reminding

myself

of

the

story

of

Arnold

Beltram

I

found

myself

wondering

I

wonder

how

this

lady

Julie

I

wonder

how

it

impacts

her

life

four

years

on

I

wonder

if

that's

a

daily

reminder

that

she's

here

because

of

the

sacrifice

of

another

or

is

that

something

that

falls

to

the

back

of

one's

mind

as

you

need

to

get

on

with

the

reality

of

life

don't

know

the

answer

to

that

one

and

in

a

sense

it's

not

really

that

important

for

us

but

when

it

comes

to

the

loving

rescue

of

Jesus

it's

hugely

important

when

it

comes

to

his

willingness

to

trade

places

with

us

to

die

so

that

we

might

live

how

we

respond

to

that

has

eternal

and

lasting

significance

one

final

observation

to

make

in

verse

46

as

Jesus

dies

he

dies

as

an

innocent

sufferer

entrusting

himself

to

God

as

he

prays

father

into

your

hands

I

commit

my

spirit

and

they

notice

the

centurion

so

the

Roman

soldier

seeing

what

had

happened

praised

God

and

said

surely

this

was

a

righteous

man

while

others

were

blind

to

the

reality

this

Roman

executioner

he

sees

he

praises

he

believes

here

is

Jesus

a man

full

of

mercy

here

is

Jesus

a man

who

gives

forgiveness

here

is

a man

who

has

died

to

secure

salvation

and

so

he

praises

God

as

he

considered

the

cross

what

about

you

and

me

today

as

we

have

considered

the

cross

as

we

considered

the

loving

sacrifice

of

Jesus

the

son

of

man

who

came

to

give

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many

does it

cause

us

to

worship

to

give

us

a

profound

sense

of

gratitude

does it

transform

our

hearts

and

our

lives

is

this

a

gift

that

we

have

received

have

we

come

to

that

place

where

we've

admitted

our

guilt

where

we

believe

that

Jesus

is

the

son

of

God

and

he's

the

saviour

have

we

come

to

him

because

if

we

do

we

have

this

promise

that

we'll

enjoy

life

with

him

now

and

for

all

eternity

in

the

paradise

of

heaven

let's

pray

together

lord

our

god

as

we

have

considered

the

cross

of

the

lord

jesus

and

the

price

he

paid

to

secure

salvation

we

pray

that

you

would

give

us

the

eyes

of

faith

to

see

like

that

thief

on

the

cross

to

recognize

jesus

as

the

sinless

one

to

recognize

him

as

one

with

an

eternal

kingdom

to

recognize

him

as

the

one

who

came

to

save

help

us

to

admit

our

sin

and

our

guilt

help

us

to

believe

in

him

so

that

we

would

come

to

him

in

faith

lord

we

pray

that

you'd

help

us

to

see

just

like

that

Roman

centurion

so

that

our

response

to

the

cross

us

and

we'd

be

one

of

heartfelt

praise

that

we

would

recognize

jesus

as

the

truly

righteous

one

suffering

and

dying

in

our

place

so

that

his

righteousness

might be

given

to

us

so

that

we

might

have

access

to

know

and

enjoy

life

with

you

our

god

lord

we thank

you for

this time

of year

we thank

you for

easter

and for

the

opportunity

it

gives

to

us

to

share

with

family

and

friends

and

with

our

wider