Steve Gaines said he often sees 1 Corinthians 1:18 play out in real life — that the message of the cross makes no sense to those who are dying, but to those who are being saved, it changes everything.
“You talk to a lost person and you say, ‘Jesus died for you on the cross,’” said Gaines, senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee. “I’ve literally had lost people look back at me and say, ‘What in the world does my life have to do with a Jewish man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago just like 30,000 other Jews who were crucified?’”
Gaines said for them and for everyone else, Jesus has everything to do with their life.
Speaking to the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference on June 10 in Indianapolis, he used the seven statements of Jesus from the cross to share seven messages that the cross has for His followers today.
- A message of forgiveness
“The first thing out of his mouth was Luke 23:34 — ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” Gaines said.
Jesus forgave the ones who killed him, even though none of them asked for forgiveness, he said.
“Some of you have people who don’t like you very much, and you try to be nice to them, and they don’t want you to be nice to them because they don’t want to be nice to you,” Gaines said. “They’re broken inside. But even though they don’t deserve forgiveness, you need to forgive them.”
- A message of salvation
“Don’t you love the thief on the cross? You talk about someone who got into heaven smelling like smoke. That ol’ boy just barely got in,” Gaines said, referring to Luke 23:43.
The thief couldn’t do anything at that moment except cry out, he said. “Praise God, when you cry out, Jesus will hear you. … Aren’t you glad that if you’re still breathing, you can still repent and believe in Jesus.
- A message of provision
When Jesus looked down from the cross at His mother, Mary, he told her in John 19:25–27 that John was now her “son,” and she was now his “mother” so that John could take care of her after Jesus was gone.
It was a message of provision for her, Gaines said.
“Aren’t you glad we can take care of our elderly parents? I thank God for my mom, my dad, my father-in-law in heaven, and now we’re able to help with Donna’s mother,” he said. “Jesus was nailed to a cross, but He was still about His Father’s business — He was looking after His mother … He honored the fifth commandment, and He honored her.”
God will always provide
Gaines said this is also a picture of how God will always provide for His people.
“Wherever you are, whatever is going on, God will provide for you,” he said. “Most importantly, He’ll provide for you by writing your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
- A message of separation
When Jesus said “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” in Matthew 27:46, He was experiencing the separation of God that everyone deserves to face because of his or her sin, Gaines said.
“He was separated from God temporarily so we don’t have to be separated from God permanently,” he said.
- A message of humanity
In John 19:28–29, Jesus expressed thirst so that someone would moisten His mouth with sour wine.
“He wanted to be able to speak clearly because He had something He was about to shout,” Gaines said. “He needed somebody to help Him.”
The Lord wants all Christ followers to help Him sometimes by sharing the gospel with others, preaching a biblical sermon or meeting a need, he said.
“Go out to somebody you wouldn’t normally be drawn to and just start being nice to them like Jesus did and then share the gospel and tell them that Jesus saves,” Gaines said. “Find a need and meet it; find a hurt and heal it. Share the gospel.”
- A message of completion
“Jesus said in John 19:30, ‘It is finished.’ He shouted it,” Gaines said. “Paid in full. Complete atonement.”
When Jesus shouted that, He destroyed the works of the devil, he said. “Brethren, we’re fighting a battle, but it’s already been won. Jesus gave a message of completion.”
- A message of commitment
In Luke 23:46, Jesus said, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.”
“Nobody took Jesus’ life. Jesus laid it down as an offering,” Gaines said. “Jesus was totally in control on the cross, and when the time for payment had come, He paid the price. And when it was completed and over, He simply committed his spirit to God.”
Time still left
Gaines said that’s the way he wants to die one day. It’s something that has been on his mind a lot since he was diagnosed with cancer in late 2023.
“I’ve prayed more than I’ve ever prayed,” he said.
He said he believes God gave him a word from Psalm 118:17–18 that this cancer isn’t going to kill him, that he still has time left.
“The Lord has discipled me, disciplined me severely. I’ve gone through severe discipleship,” Gaines said. “But He has not given me over to death.”
He said he knows he will die one day, but until then he wants to live like Jesus and live for Jesus.
“I want to die every day on the cross. I want to be crucified on the cross,” Gaines said. “And then one day when I check out, on my final day I want to die like Jesus.”
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