Focus: Shouts Of Jesus!

Text: Mt.27:50

"Jesus, when he had CRIED again with a LOUD VOICE, yielded up the ghost."

At certain moments in the life of Christ He cried out loud. The word used in the Greek always implies a great shout. In those moments He screamed for all to hear. He shouted with a loud voice. He silences a whole lot in our lives when He shouts. When His voice thunders, every noise in your life is put out. He is the silencer of all demonic noises in your space.

1. Shout of the Master-Teacher

John writes, "Then CRIED Jesus in the temple as he TAUGHT, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not" (Jh.7:28). Here Jesus Christ is addressing a crowd of Jewish audience. He speaks with the voice of authority. Jesus Christ is the Master-Teacher. No force could resist the audacity in His voice. He is the bold teacher of truth. By His teaching He exposes the hearts of men.

2. Shout of the Thirst-Quencher

John writes, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and CRIED, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (Jh.7:37). Jesus Christ addresses the worshippers at the last day of the feast. He presents Himself as the quencher of spiritual thirst. He is the living water. He quenches our thirst and satisfies our hunger. He shouts to press home the truth of God. He calls attention to Himself as the supplier of human needs.

3. Shout of the Master of death

John declares, "And when he thus had spoken, he CRIED with a LOUD VOICE, Lazarus, come forth" (Jh.11:43). This was at the tomb of Lazarus. Christ shouted to recall Lazarus from the land of the dead. He exercised power over death. He broke the shackles of death and enlivened Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. His voice thundered and the forces of death surrendered. He presents Himself as the resurrection and the life. He proves indeed to be the Lord of death. Death is servant to Christ.

4. Shout of the Messiah

John says, "Jesus CRIED and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me" (Jh.12:44,45). This was the shout of Jesus Christ to the crowd. He presents Himself as the sent one - the Messiah of God. Christ represents and reflects God to all men. He is the perfect representation of the Father among men. In an imperfect world He proved to be the perfect man. How we see or treat Him matters. In Him we see God for who He is. He reflects divinity and mirrors God to us. Believing in Him is the same as believing in God, and knowing Him translates to knowing God.

5. Shout of the High Priest

Matthew says, "And about the ninth hour Jesus CRIED with a LOUD VOICE, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mt.27:46). The expiation of our sins took place at the cross. The cross is God's altar. Right here, Christ atoned for our sins and procured salvation for all men. Yes, He atoned for the sins of humanity! By His blood He secured our deliverance and purchased our freedom from the slave-market of sin. In Christ man's spiritual malady and moral depravity has been remedied. Now we have been redeemed and pardoned. The yoke of sin is forever broken. Our relationship and fellowship with God is finally and fully restored. By His sacrificial death, the door of access to God is now open.

6. Shout of a Victor

Matthew says, "Jesus, when he had CRIED again with a LOUD VOICE, yielded up the ghost." On the cross the Lord Jesus Christ tasted death for every man. He died in our place and took the sting of death away. Luke says, "And when Jesus had CRIED with a LOUD VOICE, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost" (Lk.23:46). Of His own accord He gave up His spirit. His death was not that of a coward. Death did not kill Him; He handed Himself over to God and surrendered His life. He died to free us from the terror of death. In Christ death is not final. By the death and resurrection of Christ we have the assurance that when we die, we do so in hope of a resurrection. We die to go back to our Heavenly Father, and as Paul would say, to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord.

Mark reports, "And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that HE SO CRIED OUT, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mk.15:39). Christ died majestically. Christ's unique death convinced the centurion that he was truly the Son of God. It was a victorious death. In His death, death was conquered. His shout was a victorious shout. Death has been a great terror to every man, but now Christ has destroyed it.

I pray for the voice of Jesus Christ to thunder in every part of your life where you have issues. I pray you experience afresh the power of His voice in your life. Let the authority of Christ be preeminent in your life! Get ready for the shout of the Master! It will change your life. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter